


Ocean Views

by creatyeol



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Begging, Body Worship, Bottom Kim Jongin | Kai, But only if you squint, Cute, Established Relationship, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Feel-good, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Hybrids, If you had a bad day, Jongin is so cute, M/M, Mentioned Wu Yi Fan | Kris, Mild Smut, Multiple Orgasms, No Angst, No Plot/Plotless, Ocean, Oneshot-esque, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Smut, Some Plot, Top Oh Sehun, Walks On The Beach, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, Well maybe a little, mermaid au, when is he not though, you've come to the right place
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:21:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 47,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26725081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creatyeol/pseuds/creatyeol
Summary: Jongin might have a tail and gills, but he’s still half-pretty boy, and Sehun doesn’t fare well with (half) pretty boys who make puppy eyes at him.Alternatively, Sehun dates mermaid!Jongin and they have a very cute n' fluffy love life.
Relationships: Kim Jongin | Kai/Oh Sehun
Comments: 161
Kudos: 201





	1. moonlight

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for clicking :) I wrote this AU just for fun, but I hope you'll love it too <3 Enjoy!

The town sits on a small cliff that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. It is small and close-knit, marked on maps solely because of the giant Poseidon statue in front of the popular fishing pier, and always smells like sunshine and salt. Sehun could draw up a map of the town blindfolded, accurate to how many steps it takes to get from the small arcade and movie theater where he works, to Minseok’s seafood bar where Chanyeol plays on nights when his small band isn’t out touring, to Jongdae’s favorite surfing spot along the outskirts of town. Some days, the four of them talk about why they never bothered to move out of town, but they always wind up at the same answer--it’s the only place that truly brings them peace of mind. When Sehun had attended university in the city, he had been excited only to be disappointed. He yearned for the simplicity and casualness that living by the beach had proffered, where nobody ever wears anything fancier than a button-up, where everyone has an extra piece of saltwater taffy on them, and a bonfire night with a guitar, four friends, and marshmallows was the perfect way to kickstart the weekend.

It’s midnight, and Sehun can’t sleep. Damn his insomniac tendencies that never really withered once he had stopped pulling all-nighters in order to read books and pull shit out of his ass for long-winded essays on rhetorical analysis. It’s alright, though--he’ll just be early today. Sehun sighs and sits up, feeling his feet touch a worn wooden floor as well as a few grains of grit. No matter how much he vacuums, he’ll never stop trekking sand into his little bungalow. He grabs the first pair of pants that he finds in the darkness, a beach towel and his keys, and walks out into the quiet, dark night. There isn’t much of a breeze, and the air is warm and moist against his bare chest, smelling of salt as always. The flickering street lamps slowly peter out as Sehun makes his way to the beach, bypassing the set of worn wooden steps that lead to the public access. Instead, he makes his way along the mixture of short, prickly grass and gritty sand until he reaches the very outskirts of town. 

Picking his way down a set of haphazard rocks jutting out to act as makeshift steps should’ve been difficult, given the overgrown shrubbery that threatens to prick and cut skin, as well as the lack of light. But for the 22-year old, it is perhaps a little too easy, the way he knows the jagged rocks like the back of his hand. He jumps the last few feet of the overhang, safe in the knowledge that he’ll land on soft sand, and looks around at the far more private and lesser-known part of the beach. To his right, a giant line of jagged cliff towers above them, shadowy gray-black against the dark backdrop of the night sky, and to his left is a small deserted boating dock that holds the traces of midnight first kisses and aftermaths of skinny dipping shenanigans. Unbeknownst to tourists and even townspeople, whenever anyone refers to ‘the beach’, this alcove is what Sehun’s mind conjures. Luckily, there’s no lovestruck Jongdae and Minseok on the dock today, only him, so Sehun sits down at the very end of the wooden walkway and dips his feet into the cool saltwater. If he had tried to jump in at this depth, he definitely wouldn’t have been able to touch the bottom.

The night is peacefully quiet, save the ambient noise of waves crashing against the shore and cliff, or lapping up against the wooden dock. The moon isn’t full tonight, but waning--good news for Sehun. Almost unconsciously, Sehun’s hand brushes against the singular pearl threaded through a thin black cord at his wrist. 

“Where are you?” Sehun calls softly to seemingly nobody in particular, but Sehun knows better. A few more minutes of silence pass in which Sehun waits patiently, laying back onto the wooden planks and staring up at the stars. “Such a tease,” Sehun chuckles softly. At this, a distant splash comes from far off, but it is far too purposeful and stark to have been waves hitting black rock. He sits up and turns his head towards the sound, even though he can’t see shit. “Found you.” Another splash answers him, and this time, a cheerful, delighted giggle sounds through the night as well. “You gonna come here?” Silence, then a cold hand wraps around Sehun’s submerged ankle. Sehun lifts his ankle out of the water, amused, and with the hand, a face breaks the dark surface of the ocean as well. The creature’s brown hair is slicked back from his forehead with water, and there are scattered, colorful shells adorning the tops of his cheekbones. He smiles cheekily at Sehun, flashing a set of pearly white teeth, then swims a distance away to flip through the air gracefully. Sehun watches as the merman’s toned, tan chest is exposed, followed by a scaly golden tail that reflects and shimmers in the moonlight. 

“Stop showing off,” Sehun scoffs, although his breath has been stolen at the sight of the merman flipping and twirling effortlessly through the air in front of him, right in a beam of moonlight that cascades across the ripples of water. It’s not just the magnificent tail; the merman’s extended arms and arched torso also add to the grandiose performance that he puts on for Sehun. “You don’t need to impress me.” 

“Did you miss me?” A honey voice, warm and alluring, just like when sunshine filters through clear water, inquires. Without warning, the merman bursts out of the water and drapes his arms on Sehun’s thighs, promptly soaking his shorts with the seawater that clings to the merman’s skin. The creature tilts his head cheekily and lays it over his arms. His golden tail drifts lazily behind him, the silky, long billowing fins just barely breaking the surface as it matches the movement of the ocean’s ripples. 

“I dunno,” Sehun plays coy, reaching out to thumb at the matching pearl strung through a black cord on the creature’s wrist.  _ “Did _ I miss you?” 

“If you don’t answer, I’m gonna go back.” The creature pouts and flicks his tail. “Kyungsoo doesn’t approve, anyway--” 

“Kyungsoo can, and I cannot stress this enough, kiss my ass.” Sehun reaches out to stroke the merman’s hair, then thumb along a wickedly sharp jawline. “Jonginie.”

“Sehunnie.” 

“You need to be more careful,” Sehun states flatly. “Jongdae and Minseok spotted you yesterday, I’m sure of it.” 

“Oooohh! Did they say I was hot?” Jongin smirks at the human. “Did they like what they saw?” 

“Apparently they only caught a glimpse of you and came running to the arcade to find me, yelling about mermaids. What were you doing, so close to the shore at sunset?” Sehun scolds. “No daylight hours. Kyungsoo will spear you on his trident.” 

“He’s always mad at me for something, anyways,” comes Jongin’s insouciant answer. “I like the sun. It feels so nice on my chest.” 

“Can’t you save sunbathing for when you shift?” Sehun asks exasperatedly. 

“Now, Sehunnie,” Jongin purrs, flicking his tail a little more flirtily now, “did you really come here just to scold me?” 

“Well, yeah, I couldn’t sleep because I was worrying about y--” 

“Awww!” Jongin squeals and wraps his arms around Sehun’s waist. Sehun nearly falls into the water. 

“Geez, Jongin, not so loud,” Sehun whispers, clutching at one side of the dock. “And let go of me, I’m gonna fall.” 

“Nobody’s here but us.” Jongin dismisses the thought; his heightened senses always come in handy for all their late night rendezvous. But he doesn’t stop hugging his boyfriend, and his tail won’t stop flapping in excitement, spraying Sehun with droplets of seawater. “So you do think about me!” 

_ “Huh?” _ Sehun yelps as his grip on the wooden boards gives out and he tumbles into the water, spluttering. But Jongin’s arms encircle his waist and hold him up effortlessly, keeping his head and shoulders above the water. 

“There we go. Just where I wanted you.” Jongin’s laugh is sweet and tinkling as he goes in for a kiss. Sehun’s arms wrap around Jongin’s shoulders, but not before sliding a finger along the pretty shells and jewels that decorate his collarbone as well. 

“You,” Sehun pulls back from Jongin, tasting salt and and a hint of something like honeysuckle on his lips, “are such a little shit.” 

“Am I pretty?” Jongin preens when Sehun lovingly traces the shells on his cheekbones as well. “I dressed up for you.” At this, Sehun can’t help but laugh at the merman holding him up. It’s so endearing; the constant want to impress and gift. Sehun has a whole nightstand covered in glass bottles at home holding his collection of pearls, sea glass, and pretty shells that Jongin collects for him. He could make a fortune if he ever sold them. Not that he ever will.

“You’re very pretty,” Sehun allows, then braces himself for the happy, high-pitched squeal and barrage of salty, wet kisses that follow. He smiles, anyway. “Are you gonna come with me tonight, princeling, or are we gonna make out here until I get salt sores like last time?” 

“I’m gonna be all wobbly,” Jongin scrunches his nose up. 

“As always.” Sehun wraps his legs around Jongin’s torso under the water, where warm, human skin seamlessly transitions into golden scales. “Missed you,” Sehun murmurs, earning himself another long kiss. He misses his beautiful, otherworldly boyfriend during every cycle of the waxing and full moon, in which Jongin can’t transform and is forbidden to leave his coven. A relationship with a human isn’t unheard of, Sehun learned when they first began dating. But it  _ was  _ frowned upon, and as the crown prince of his coven, Jongin was too precious to be put at risk of discovery. Still, Kyungsoo, Jongin’s overseer and their king’s advisor, grudgingly allows Jongin to make the swim every month to see Sehun, where they spend about two weeks together before the increased gravitational pull of the tide calls Jongin again and he has to return home. To his friends, Sehun explains it as a long-distance relationship--a boy he found during his time at college--which, technically isn’t completely a lie. He'd still been getting his degree when they first met. And the alibi isn’t surprising at all; dating pickings are pretty slim in town, unless you want to pick up some passing tourist for a one-night stand.

“Let me up so I can get you your towel,” Sehun chuckles after a moment. Jongin gently releases his grip on Sehun, then races Sehun to the shore. He wins by a long shot, and before Sehun even steps off of the dock, he’s already purposely stranding himself, whimpering a little in discomfort as his survival instincts kick in, shedding his gorgeous tail to be replaced with human anatomy and morphing the gill slits on either side of his ribs to nothing more than little white scars.

“It’s okay,” Sehun comforts him, letting Jongin cling onto his shoulders and rubbing his back as he transforms. A long time ago, when Sehun had asked why it hurt, Jongin had stared at him incredulously. 

~

_ “Why don’t you try shedding a tail and growing legs?” Jongin hisses through the burning sensation.  _

_ “How long do you have before you have to be submerged again?” Sehun winces as Jongin grips his hand a little too tightly. _

_ “The ocean’s pull gets worse as the moon gets rounder. If we stay away for too long, say, more than a month, we get dehydrated.”  _

_ ~ _

Transformation discomfort is always the worst part of Jongin’s transition, but when it’s complete, Sehun smirks and wolf-whistles as Jongin carefully stands up, only to fall back down in a heap. 

“You’re like a baby octopus everytime,” Sehun laughs and drapes the towel around Jongin’s waist to preserve his dignity, even though he’s seen everything a thousand times by now. “C’mon.” With Sehun’s help, Jongin slowly regains his coordination, shuffling forward a few steps. When they reach the cliff, though, it’s the same problem as always. 

“Hand here and here,” Sehun instructs. “This foot up. And push--” Jongin does, but he doesn’t grip the rock hard enough and instead Sehun gets a faceful of Jongin’s ass. “OW!” They land in a heap on the sand, Jongin tittering on top of a disgruntled Sehun. Nothing puts off the merman’s cheerful, agreeable personality. 

“I swear, if we’re stuck here till sunrise again, I’ll never hear the end of it from Chanyeol,” Sehun mutters, even as Jongin makes himself prone and presses Sehun into the sand to kiss him deeply. “Mmm.” Sehun obliges, even though sand crunches in between his teeth when they break apart. Actually, there’s sand  _ everywhere-- _ sticking to his wet skin, in his tangled, windblown hair, all over his boyfriend. Jongin doesn’t mind it; sand always just slides right off of him. “Get up, princeling. Let’s try again.” 

They miraculously make it up the cliff--Sehun always wonders how they manage it every time--and for time’s sake, Sehun motions for Jongin to hop onto his back as they return to Sehun’s condo. 

“Gonna have to take a shower,” Sehun murmurs, indicating his stiff, wind-dried but still damp clothes and all the sand covering his body. “Dunno if you wanna join unless you want to transition again.” 

“I’ll just catcall you outside of the shower,” Jongin offers, clinging onto Sehun cheerfully. 

“Perfect.” 


	2. golden scales

Sehun emerges from the bathroom, ruffling his damp hair with a towel still, to find that Jongin has dumped out a jar of his presents all over Sehun’s bed. 

“Jonginie,” Sehun calls softly, turning on a lamp for his sake. “What are you doing?” Sehun inquires, making his way over to Jongin, who has stolen a pair of Sehun’s boxers and is now laying on his stomach on the bed, kicking up his legs and crossing them at the ankles. “It’s really late. I have to work tomorrow,” Sehun yawns and flops down on the part of the bed that isn’t occupied by a humanoid form of his boyfriend and a small pile of pearls, sea glass, and various seashells. 

“You didn’t sort this jar,” Jongin pouts, doing it for Sehun. 

“I’m sorry.” Sehun rolls over to help separate the piles of precious gifts. To merpeople, Jongin had explained when Sehun first tried to stop Jongin, giving and receiving was symbolic of the push and pull of the tide. When Sehun accepts Jongin’s presents, he’s holding a token of Jongin’s love. Sehun had laughed a bit at the cheesy romanticism of it all, but deep down, he finds the culture enchanting. “I loved them,” he tells Jongin sincerely, picking out a piece of frosted purple sea glass and showing it to the merman. “They’re very pretty. Especially this one.”

“You like the purple ones?” Jongin asks, perking up a little. Sehun nods carefully. “Okay!” Together, they finish sorting the small pile. Sehun carefully deposits them into their respective jars on his bedside table neatly, then places the empty one back on the table as well. Jongin eyes him fondly the entire time. 

“I need to sleep, princeling,” Sehun murmurs, glancing at the clock. It’s almost three, and Sehun has to be at work by nine tomorrow. Unlike Jongin, who is nocturnal in order to hunt, gather, or just frolic without fear of being spotted by humans, Sehun is in desperate need of some shut-eye.

“Okay.” Jongin will probably remain awake, either singing softly or just holding Sehun in a state of ultra-stillness. One thing Sehun had realized about merpeople--they don’t fidget nearly as much as humans do. They simply zone out and stop moving during long periods of no interaction; now, Sehun can already feel Jongin’s body relaxing and becoming pliant while he slides under the thin covers and curls up in Jongin’s arms contentedly. 

“Do you want me to sing?” Jongin asks. 

“Mmh…” Jongin takes this as a yes, stroking Sehun’s hair while he croons out a strange, otherworldly melody with his honey-sweet voice. Even though Sehun can’t understand the lyrics, the quaver of Jongin’s voice and the way he pulls Sehun close conveys the meaning well enough. Right before he drifts off, his mind flits to the first time they’d ever met. 

~

__ _ Sehun huddles in a ball on the edge of the dock, leaning his cheek on his arms and letting the soft drizzle of late summer rain mix with the briny, salty smell of seawater to soothe his troubled mind. The bare skin on his chest remains relatively dry as he hunches in on himself, but his back is peppered with rainwater that runs in rivulets down the slippery skin, soaking the top hem of his underwear and shorts as well. He heaves a sigh. He should be happy--he only has one more year of university left before he can graduate--and yet, he doesn’t even want to go back. Summer flew by in the blink of an eye, and now, he’s dreading the thought of moving back on campus in a week, enduring one more year of being surrounded by constant city noises and the smell of oil and construction, of being dragged out to sweaty, disgusting frat parties and slogging through group projects with stoned partners. A sudden splash draws him out of his misery. He glances out into the dark sea. Sehun can’t see for shit, but he’s pretty sure that fish aren’t jumping out of the water.  _

__ _ “Hello?” he calls tentatively, feeling extremely stupid. There’s no answer, but there are another series of splashes that sound closer to him. Sehun stands up, fumbling for his phone to turn on his flashlight. When he directs it into the general direction of the splashes, he catches the barest glimpse of a human head. For a second, Sehun panics.  _ **_What the fuck is someone doing, swimming at this hour?_ ** _ More importantly, who knows about this spot other than Jongdae, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and himself?  _

__ _ “Who the fuck…” Sehun grumbles, very unwilling to get into the ocean and rescue a drowning idiot.  _

__ _ “Whoops.” A cheerful, overexcited voice that doesn’t sound all too off-put at the prospect of being found reaches Sehun’s ears.  _

__ _ “Are you out of your goddamn mind, swimming at this hour? In the rain?” Sehun snaps, embarrassed at having thought that he was alone.  _

__ _ “I always swim at this hour,” he--Sehun’s pretty sure, as beautiful as the voice is, it comes from a male--replies. “What are  _ **_you_ ** _ doing, sitting there at this hour? In the rain?” Sehun reels.  _

__ _ “What the fuck, dude? Get out of the water,” Sehun growls.  _

__ _ “Ah.” The voice giggles. “That’s quite difficult.” Suddenly, Sehun's flashlight shines on the face of the disembodied voice. “Hello!” He smiles cheerily at Sehun. “I’m Jongin.” _

__ _ “Wh--” Sehun gapes at the man that has just materialized, seemingly out of thin air, in front of him in the churning ocean. Having been completely rendered speechless, Sehun can only stare at the man.  _

_ “Oh, right.” Jongin smiles, all pearly teeth and friendly mischievousness. “This is the part where you ask me if you’re dreaming.”  _

_ “I’m definitely not dreaming,” Sehun replies automatically, but his hand is shaking slightly as he catches sight of something shimmering under the water. Scales. “You--uhhh--bro.” Sehun snaps out of it. “Are you trying to be a fucking mermaid?” At this, Jongin collapses into hysterics, flipping onto his back and floating lazily while he tries to quell his laughter. Except at this angle, the entirety of his body is exposed to Sehun, who inhales a nostril full of rainwater in shock as a long, golden tail becomes visible, seamlessly connected to Jongin’s upper body. Long, very realistic-looking fins trail out at the very bottom of the tail as well, and as hard as Sehun looks, there’s no outline of legs tucked into a ridiculous sleeve. So… so… Sehun drops his phone into the water.  _

_ “SHIT!” Sehun curses as the light promptly goes out, leaving him shrouded in darkness with a strange man in an extremely well put-together mermaid cosplay floating around underneath the dock.  _

_ “Oh, I presume that’s not good.” There’s a splash, a few seconds of silence, and then a clatter as Sehun’s now-waterlogged phone is placed on the dock in front of his feet. When Sehun stoops to pick it up, he finds his legs to be more wobbly than he thinks, and ends up just sitting on the wet wood helplessly. His phone is a goner, that’s for sure, but when he reaches to pick it up, his fingertips also graze two hard, round objects.  _

_ “What are these?” Sehun asks, rolling them around in his palm.  _

_ “You can’t see?”  _

_ “You CAN?” Sehun snorts, holding his hand closer to his eyes. Pearls, he realizes. Two of them, silky smooth and quite large. Sehun realizes he’s never found or known anyone who has managed to find such perfect pearls before.  _

_ “Pearls?”  _

_ “For you. Sorry for making you drop that thing.”  _

_ “That thing? You--dude, that was my phone.”  _

_ “What’s a phone?” Sehun doesn’t even have an answer for the politely curious question. His head is spinning with the strangeness of the whole situation.  _

__ _ “Where are you from?” Sehun manages to ask.  _

__ _ “Ummm, it’s like… how do I explain this to a human…” Jongin puzzles over this question for a moment. “Past that big cliff. Really far past it. And way further out in the ocean.”  _

__ _ “Wait, wait.” Sehun takes mild offense. “We’re both human, okay? Weirdo.”  _

__ _ “I’m only half-human!” The honey voice takes on a whiny tone. “I’m a  _ **_merman._ ** _ ” _

__ _ “You might have a really awesome cosplay going on there, I’ll give you that, but I promise you you’re not a mermaid.”  _

__ _ “I’m not having an identity crisis, I swear. I. Am. A. Merman.”  _

__ _ “Mermaids are just rumors,” Sehun rolls his eyes, then yells in shock as the man--merman--whatever--hauls himself out of the water, dripping water onto Sehun’s bare feet and flops onto the deck.  _

__ _ “Lucky it’s raining, so I won’t transform,” Jongin says cheerily, maneuvering himself to sit upright. His golden tail flops a few times on the wood, sending droplets of seawater flying through the air as his long, ribbon-like fins flick and unstick themselves from each other. Jongin tilts his head and offers a friendly smile at a flabbergasted Sehun, who has scooted back a good few feet away from him. The creature--Jongin--points to his tail and the small slits--are those GILLS?--on either side of his ribs. “Merman. You can touch, if you want. But not the gills.” Sehun definitely does not want to touch.  _

_ “Mermaids don’t exist,” Sehun croaks. At this, Jongin only waves a graceful hand through the air, indicating himself in all his fishy glory.  _

_ “Humans are so adorable.” The creature giggles, sweet and pure. “You act as if just because you’ve never seen something, it doesn’t exist.”  _

_ “But--” Sehun is still going through both an existential crisis and fight or flight at the same time. It’s very hard to function. “Other people--”  _

_ “My friend Yixing is seeing a human,” Jongin supplies, as if that clears up  _ **_anything._ **

_ “Mermaid sightings are just rumors,” Sehun shakes his head a little, still in utter and complete disbelief. He’d never believed any of the stories when the news covered them once in a while, chalking it up to really good CGI and ridiculous tall tales. “There’s just no way.”  _

_ “We exist.” Jongin says it matter-of-factly. “If we wanted you all to know, you’d have found out by now. No offense, but humans are really crass when it comes to other species. You should really reconsider that superiority complex of yours.” Sehun’s mouth opens and closes uselessly. Is this really happening? Is he seriously getting scolded by a mermaid right now? “We usually come out at night, because we don’t want to be found. But once in a while,” Jongin spreads his hands helplessly, gesturing between himself and Sehun. “Whoopsies. Kyungsoo’s gonna smack the shit out of me.”  _

_ “Who--”  _

_ “My overseer. I’m crown prince.” As if to show off, Jongin motions to his magnificent, dripping tail, showing off his long, ribbon-like fins that are apparently representative of status.  _

_ “PRINCE?” _

_ “Of my coven.” Jongin answers each question simply and directly, trying to keep it as easy as possible to keep up. Sehun doesn’t find it particularly helpful, though he feels something like gratefulness to Jongin for trying. At least now, he’s starting to be able to form coherent thoughts again.  _

_ “Are there--werewolves?” Okay, so maybe he’s not thinking as clearly as he thought he was. “Vampires?”  _

_ “Pffttt, I don’t know. How would I know? Maybe.” Jongin shrugs nonchalantly, still eyeing Sehun with polite curiosity. “I have lots of questions too, but I think I might hold off till later. You seem scared. Which is probably good news for me,” Jongin murmurs thoughtfully to himself. “Junmyeon--I mean--His Highness always said I had zero sense of self-preservation.” Okay, so mermaids also make self-deprecating jokes. Duly noted. Wait. Till… LATER?  _

_ “A-am I seeing you again?” Sehun stammers.  _

_ “Do you not want to?” The excited light in Jongin’s eyes dims a little.  _

_ “I-I-I’m just,” Sehun stutters wildly. He might have a tail and gills, but he’s still half-pretty boy, and Sehun doesn’t fare well with pretty boys who make puppy eyes at him. “I don’t know what to think.”  _

_ “That’s okay.” Jongin glances up at him. “I can explain it to you more, if you want,” he offers. “Maybe tomorrow, though. The sun’s about to come up.” Sehun hadn’t even realized that the sky was getting more gray. In the faint light, Jongin’s tail shimmers splendidly, and his tan skin glows as water droplets cling to his well-muscled arms and chest. Sehun swallows, taken by the enchanting beauty of the merman in front of him.  _

_ “O-okay,” Sehun agrees quietly. “Tomorrow.” Hesitantly, he examines the pearls in his hand again. “What do I do with these?” He asks helplessly, holding them out tentatively to Jongin.  _

_ “You’ll keep them, won’t you?” Suddenly, Jongin looks almost… shy? Sehun can’t figure out why, and at this point, he’s too exhausted to ask.  _

_ “Sure,” he mumbles, sticking them into his pocket. Jongin’s cheeks turn pink with happiness. Did a merman just  _ **_blush_ ** _ at him? Sehun stands up shakily. “I’ll see you tomorrow… around the same time.” he mumbles. _

_ “Sounds good! I gotta go, Kyungsoo’s gonna kill me.” And with that, Jongin tumbles into the water gracefully, leaving only a trace of seafoam as he swims away from a shell-shocked Sehun. _

~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Flashback chapter ^_^   
> I was so happy to read your comments and receive kudos! Thank you 💕 Means a lot to me~


	3. sunset

“Sehunnie,” A warm hand is shaking him awake. “You have to get up now.” 

“No, I don’t.” Sehun burrows deeper into Jongin’s side. 

“But you said you did.” Soft lips brush his temple, then work their way down the side of his cheek and jaw. Sehun squirms at the ticklish sensation, but he opens his eyes blearily to find Jongin practically touching noses with him as he leaves kisses on the corner of Sehun’s lips. 

“H’lo,” Sehun croaks, going cross-eyed to meet Jongin’s gaze. 

“Hi.” Jongin pulls back as Sehun sits up. “You slept nicely. Barely moved at all.” 

“I still think it’s weird that you watch me sleep for hours,” Sehun grumbles, rubbing his eyes to get all the crust out of them. 

“Just think of it as protecting you.” At this, Sehun chuckles and swings his legs over the side of the bed.

“Princeling, you wouldn’t scare a minnow.” 

“You’re just not scared of me because I’ve never pointed a trident at you.” A very nice warmth engulfs Sehun’s backside as Jongin drapes himself over Sehun and traces the broad planes of his chest with soft fingertips. “You’d be such a gorgeous merman,” Jongin sighs. “I just know I’d have a crush on you.” 

“Don’t you technically already have a crush on me?” Sehun inquires, standing up. Jongin remains on the bed, watching Sehun keenly while he gets dressed. 

“Is it a crush if it’s requited?” Jongin asks him. 

“Of course.” Sehun’s voice is muffled as he tosses a gray t-shirt on. “You can have a crush on someone and be in love. They’re not mutually exclusive.” At this, Jongin preens happily. “Princeling, you need to walk a little,” Sehun prompts after he finishes getting dressed. He holds his hand out. “C’mon.” Jongin obediently stands up and with Sehun’s help, manages to shuffle out of the bedroom into the small kitchen area. 

“What are you doing today?” Jongin inquires, making little circles around the space between the kitchen table and living room to get used to the feeling of walking again while Sehun throws ingredients into a blender for a quick breakfast. 

“Work, but I get off early because it’s Friday. And then we can go have some fun, is that okay?” 

“Where?” 

“Whatever you want.” Jongin jumps when Sehun starts the blender, clasping both hands over his ears. Sehun throws him an apologetic look; merpeople are more sensitive to sensory input than humans. 

“Sorry,” Sehun murmurs as he shuts the blender off. “I forgot to warn you.” 

“S’okay.” Jongin yawns widely. “I’m g-gonna go to bed after you leave.” 

“You do that, princeling. Do you want some?” Sehun motions to his mango-passionfruit smoothie. 

“No.” Jongin yawns again, and meanders over to Sehun for kisses and hugs. “Come back soon and take a nap with me.” 

“I will.” Sehun needs it anyway. 

“And I wanna go to the beach.” 

“Of course you do.” Sehun chuckles. “We can do that.” Sehun brushes Jongin’s bangs off of his forehead and admires his sea-green irises. “You have pretty eyes today, sweetheart.” Jongin blinks once, and they turn the exact shade of lavender purple that Sehun had said he liked in sea glass last night. “Best boy,” Sehun praises, running his thumb under the soft skin of Jongin’s eye. “So gorgeous, princeling.” Jongin beams at all the compliments, happy to have made Sehun happy. “Let’s get you tucked into bed, then I have to go to work,” Sehun murmurs in between kisses. “C’mon.” 

“Don’t want you to go,” Jongin whines as he curls up in Sehun’s spot on the bed. Sehun draws the covers up over his prince and places a kiss on his forehead. “Stay here,” Jongin murmurs, reaching out to hold Sehun captive as he makes to stand up. Sehun’s heart swells with affection. His clingy mermaid. He’d missed him. 

“I have to go.” Sehun kisses the hand that is trying to pull him back into bed. “I promise I’ll be back soon.” 

“But I’m gonna miss you.” 

“I’ll miss you, too.” Sehun sighs patiently. 

“Want you to stay.” 

“Good God, Jongin.” Sehun sits down on the edge of the bed and smooths Jongin’s hair back from his forehead. “I thought you were sleepy.” 

“I am sleepy.” Lulled by Sehun’s reluctance to leave, Jongin relaxes into the mattress and blinks drowsily up at him. “Stay, Sehunnie, stay.” 

“Princeling--” Sehun laughs helplessly, trapped by his boyfriend. “I’m going to be late for work.” 

“Mmmh!” Jongin whines insistently, eyes already closed. 

“I’ll come back soon.” Sehun leans down and brushes a kiss against his temple, then his cheek. “Go to sleep, you won’t even notice that I’m gone.” 

\--

Sehun works at a movie theater connected to a small arcade in the center of town. They show shitty stereotypical beach boy rom-coms and the occasional blockbuster hit that Sehun could just as easily pirate in the comfort of his own home, curled up next to Jongin under a blanket. He sweeps up one too many kernels of popcorn and sometimes gets a headache from staring at the flashing neon lights of the arcade, but it’s a nice and easy job where he can daydream about Jongin all he wants. That is, until Jongdae shows up at the prize counter in the arcade and plops a paper bag of fish and chips in front of Sehun. 

“Hey, babe,” Sehun deadpans. “What’s up.” 

“How many slinky toys do I get?” he asks brightly, flashing that gorgeous kitten smile of his. 

“None, unless you win yourself some tickets.” Sehun stares at the splotches of oil slowly seeping through the brown paper.

“It’s from Minseokkie,” Jongdae informs him, tapping his fingers against the glass and peering through the top at the action figures, bouncy balls, and sticker packs. “When do you get lunch break? I’m bored as shit.” 

“Fifteen minutes, but…” Sehun glances at the clock. “Fuck it, now.” He grabs the bag and walks out from around the counter to join Jongdae. The two of them settle onto the wooden bench outside, watching clusters of tourists, either covered in sunscreen or sunburns, walk past them on the sandy sidewalks. Jongdae steals his fries as he chats about some wave he caught earlier this morning when he was out surfing. 

“Say, when’s Jongin coming back?” Jongdae asks suddenly. “Didn’t you say it’d be soon?” 

“He’s already in town,” Sehun says quietly, nursing a piece of fried fish. “Landed late last night.” 

“You should ask him to move in with you instead of traveling all the time,” Jongdae mumbles around his food. “Or move in with him.” He swallows. “I mean, you two are practically married already.” Sehun snorts. “I’m serious! It’s like you’re a light switch,” Jongdae explains excitedly to a doubtful Sehun. “And when he looks at you--” Jongdae snaps his fingers. “His eyes light up. I’ve never seen anything like it. I wish Minseok looked at me like that.” 

“Dae, he looks at you like you’re the key to world peace.” Sehun rolls his eyes. “No need to be jealous.”

“Keep it up, Oh Sehun.” Jongdae points a greasy finger at him. “You little tsundere shit. That boy could drag you underwater and ask you to drown for him; I know you would do it in a heartbeat.” Sehun suppresses a smile at this. He’s not far from the truth. 

“When’s our next bonfire night?” 

“Tomorrow?” Jongdae asks. 

“Is Chanyeol back in town?” Sehun questions, and Jongdae nods. 

“Should be, we can double check though.” 

“Sounds good.” Sehun reaches into the bag for napkins and wipes his oily fingers clean. “Tell Minseok thanks for lunch.” 

“It comes with a price,” Jongdae warns. Sehun sighs. He should’ve known. 

“Which tickets do you want?” 

\--

Sehun gets off at 4:00, while the summer sunshine is still bright for a few hours to come, and just before the chaotic night shift starts. Not his problem. He waves to his boss and whistles a tune, hands shoved insouciantly in his pockets, while he strolls home back to his pretty boyfriend, who is buried under the covers fast asleep when Sehun quietly opens the front door. He stands over the bed, watching Jongin for a little while. His long eyelashes nearly touch his cheeks when he closes his eyes, and there's a tiny bit of drool spilling out of the corner of his mouth as he slumbers peacefully. He looks adorable. Sehun’s heart melts as he strips down to boxers and carefully slides into the other side of the bed. Of course, Jongin doesn’t miss the jostling movement. He snuffles and murmurs something that sounds suspiciously like ‘Hunnie?’ before blinking through bleary eyes. 

“Shhh,” Sehun presses his chest to Jongin’s back and wraps an arm around his waist. His lips move up and down against the nape of the merman’s neck as he speaks. “Go back to sleep.” 

“You came back,” Jongin mumbles, eyelids already starting to droop again. 

“I didn’t go to war,” Sehun grumbles, though he’s feeling as soft as a pile of feathers. “Sleep, princeling.” Jongin obeys. 

Sehun wakes up only a couple hours later, nose buried in Jongin’s soft, sandy brown hair, the merman’s head resting on his boyfriend’s chest. Impressive rearranging for two people completely zonked out. A strand of hair goes up Sehun’s nostril as he breathes in. He jerks his head away, still drowsy and warm, and rubs his nose to get rid of the ticklish feeling. Sunlight streams in through the sheer white curtains in front of the window, painting golden stripes across both of their bodies. Miles and miles of Jongin’s bare, sunkissed skin presses up against the hard lines and soft curves of Sehun’s body; smooth, bare, tempting. Sehun is only human, after all. He rubs soft circles against the ball of Jongin’s shoulder with the palm of his hand, then traces downward over swells of muscle. The merman stirs, especially when Sehun turns his head to kiss his hair. 

“Did you sleep well?” Sehun murmurs when Jongin slides his head onto the pillow next to Sehun to meet his gaze. Jongin licks his lips and yawns. “Good evening, my prince,” Sehun smiles affectionately as Jongin wriggles closer to him. “C’mere,” he murmurs. “Give me a kiss.” It’s chaste and sweet, until Sehun sweeps the tip of his tongue against Jongin’s plush bottom lip, tasting honeysuckle as he licks into Jongin’s mouth. The merman squirms underneath him, arching up into Sehun’s hot, loving touches and more kisses down his torso. 

“Missed you,” Sehun whispers, breath ghosting over the little white scars on either side of Jongin’s chest from his gills. “Handsome prince.” Jongin gasps and whimpers when Sehun grasps his length and gives him a long, firm stroke from shaft to head. For him, everything is ten times as sensitive. He can sense Sehun’s aura, filled with desire for him and only him, so strong and passionate while he laps at Jongin’s soft inner thighs before biting them gently. Jongin shudders and threads his fingers into Sehun’s hair, slightly dry from the constant contact with saltwater. In times like these, with Sehun holding him close, tracing the planes of his chest reverently while he makes love to him, Jongin can only clutch at Sehun’s strong arms and whimper desperately into his mouth. Sehun kisses Jongin hard as he rocks into him, whispering words against the corner of his lips when Jongin shudders and mewls. 

“You sound so sweet,” Sehun murmurs, nose brushing the top of Jongin’s cheekbone. “I missed you, darling, missed your pretty moans, this gorgeous body, your cute little cock.” The tops of Jongin’s cheekbones flood with color. His head tilts back against the pillows, and Sehun places his mouth against the merman’s neck, suckling at the sensitive junction, all the while thrusting slow and deep, just the way Jongin likes. “You’re pretty in human form,” Sehun purrs, thumb swirling circles around the leaking tip of Jongin’s cock. Jongin cries out into his boyfriend’s mouth. “Sex feels good, doesn’t it? You like it when I fuck you?” The dirty talk makes Jongin shudder. He feels so  _ owned,  _ so wanted as Sehun takes him. “Did you miss this? Miss me?” Sehun wants to know, pressing his lips against Jongin’s throat to feel his moans quiver and reverberate as they spill out uncontrollably.

“Ye-s,” Jongin whimpers obediently. “Sehun,” his boyfriend’s name falls from his lips over and over again. “Ah, ah, Sehun--ohhhh, Sehun--” 

“Sounds like you did.” Sehun’s low chuckle nearly drives him out of his mind. He is loved; so loved. The aching, pulsing feeling of Sehun filling him up, holding him closer than skin, sending tingles of pleasure crawling across his skin. His handsome human, the one who accepts all of his gifts and treats him so well. In this world, there is nobody else who will ever treasure him so much--not the girls who giggle and whisper about him behind clumps of kelp, nor the merpeople from other covens, bearing expensive, lavish presents to win him over. No, Jongin loves this gift the most, the smell of Sehun’s sweat and musk surrounding him, the whisper of ‘Jonginnie…’, reverent and loving as he climaxes, hands finding his to intertwine their fingers together. He likes Sehun’s gentle touches while he cleans them up, the soft look in his eyes only meant for Jongin, the kisses he presses on the tip of Jongin’s nose. Sehun is everything that Jongin yearned for, someone endlessly thoughtful and kind and romantic, who lavishes Jongin with attention and love. He buys Jongin blackberry swirl ice cream in a chocolate dipped cone for his insatiable sweet tooth, and his eyes crinkle up into half-crescents when the merman peers curiously through the window of a souvenir shop at all the sea glass and pearl earrings. 

“Do you give my gifts away?” Jongin inquires, licking at his rapidly melting ice cream. 

“No,” Sehun replies patiently. 

“Where do they get those, then?” 

“Not from me.” Sehun shrugs, indifferent, and tosses his already-eaten butterscotch ice cream cup into the trash. 

“Would you, if they asked?” Jongin insists petulantly. Humans are greedy, he remembers Kyungsoo preaching to him. Their idea of materialism is selfish and cruel. And Jongin, sporting the tiniest of crushes on this handsome human he had met overnight, had wilted at the thought of his pearls being thrown away carelessly. 

“If they asked what, darling?” 

“If they asked you to give my gifts away to them.” Jongin licks sadly at a drop of ice cream. “Would you let them take your--” 

“No.” The tone in Sehun’s voice is final. “Of course not.” 

“Why?” Jongin wants to know. Sehun is a human, a beautiful one at that, but still a human. He’s not supposed to be like this, and his behavior intrigues Jongin as much as it makes him feel loved and secure. 

“Because I don’t want to.” Sehun turns to Jongin and wipes a drop of ice cream off the corner of his mouth. “You gave them to me. They’re special. I like them.” Jongin’s heart skips a beat, and he feels himself fall just a little more in love. 

“Especially the purple glass?” Jongin asks as they make their way down to the beach. The last of the sweet chocolate cone disappears into his mouth, and he crunches down on it happily. 

“Watch your step,” Sehun says instead, jumping down the cliff onto soft sand. He holds his arms out for Jongin. “Come on.” Jongin inches down, then lets himself drop into Sehun’s waiting cradle. 

“The purple ones?” Jongin asks again. Sehun huffs out a patient laugh at Jongin’s incessant questions. “Which ones do you like best?” 

“The ones you give me, princeling.” 

“But all of them are the ones I give to you!” 

“Yup.” Sehun pops the ‘p’ at the end. “Coincidence, huh?” He reaches out for Jongin’s hand as they walk along the shoreline, a little further up from the wet sand so that Jongin won’t transform. The sky seems to bleed orange and gold as the sun dips low in the west, below the dark blue of the endless ocean. Jongin points to an indiscriminate spot in the horizon when they pass the black cliff. 

“I live there.” 

“Yeah?” Sehun wraps an arm around Jongin’s waist to pull him closer. “How can you tell? It all looks the same to me.” 

“I know the water; I see the currents. I can picture it.” Jongin smiles contentedly. “There’s a pretty coral reef somewhere over there…” his finger wanders. “Lots of jellyfish there.” 

“I see a cute merman,” Sehun murmurs absentmindedly, staring out at the water. Jongin’s heart drops like a stone sinking to the seabed. 

“Where?” 

“Right here.” Sehun turns toward Jongin, chuckling at the pout forming on his face. “Silly,” he admonishes, poking his cheek gently. “You assume too much.” 

“Would you buy ice cream for another--” 

“No, and I wouldn’t accept gifts from them, and I wouldn’t take them to the grocery store, and I wouldn’t go on walks with them,” Sehun answers all of the inevitable questions. “I wouldn’t sleep with them, I wouldn’t kiss them, I wouldn’t--what am I missing?” Jongin giggles and rests his head against Sehun’s shoulder as they walk clumsily together. 

“You got it all.” 

“Good.” They walk in comfortable silence, with the sound of waves lapping up constantly onto the beach as ambient noise. “There’s a bonfire night tomorrow,” he murmurs. 

“With your friends?” 

“Yes; Minseok and Jongdae, along with Chanyeol and Baekhyun. You’ll come with me, won’t you?” Sehun murmurs, pressing his cheek against Jongin’s. “Everyone’s excited to see you again.” 

“I like bonfire nights,” Jongin replies softly. “I like it when Chanyeol plays the guitar.” 

“He definitely will.” Jongin stops and turns his face up to the moonlight so that it shines silvery white on his tan cheek. Sehun rises to the bait easily, wrapping his arms around the merman’s waist to kiss him softly. Jongin’s hand curves around the nape of Sehun’s neck, pressing tight into Sehun’s embrace. When they pull away to catch their breaths, Jongin’s eyes glimmer with happiness. Sehun kisses his forehead. 

“Welcome home, princeling.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, everyone ^_^ I've had the update for this fic drafted out for a while now, but never got around to finishing it until today. I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. :)


	4. midnight

Sehun wakes up to a pair of sea green eyes mere centimeters from his face, staring at his features. He blinks a few times and shifts his head back a little. The eyes follow him. 

“H’lo,” he croaks, voice raspy from slumber. “D’you… sleep well?” Sehun stretches his arms up and out of the covers before letting them drop around Jongin to pull him closer. One of the best things of having his boyfriend around is that he can take afternoon naps without having to think up excuses to do so. “Nini?” Sehun asks sleepily, but the merman doesn’t answer. Sehun lowers his chin to glance at Jongin. The merman is already fast asleep again on his chest. Sehun sighs and closes his eyes, but he doesn’t attempt to nap; instead stroking through Jongin’s honey brown hair absentmindedly, warm from lying in the rays of sunshine that shine on the bed sheets. “Love you,” Sehun whispers to the unconscious merman. His ethereal prince. Sometimes, even after this long, it’s hard to believe that Jongin is his, and that he’s a merman. Certainly, it was hard to come to terms with in the beginning. 

~~

_ "You came back!” An excited, disembodied voice rises from the water just as Sehun is beginning to feel like he had dreamed the entire thing. He flinches and looks around at the sea spreading out in all directions in front of him, calm after the rain yesterday.  _

_ “Didn’t you tell me to come back,” Sehun grumbles, more to himself than anyone. He still can’t figure out where the voice is coming from.  _

_ “Over here.” A graceful figure leaps through the air, silhouetted by the moon’s silver light, shining on the little ripples in the water. Sehun watches, half in awe, half with trepidation. “Hi!” A few seconds later, Jongin’s bright, excited face and shoulders pop out of the water.  _

_ “You still have your tail,” Sehun comments flatly.  _

_ “I don’t just lose my tail,” Jongin pouts. “Not unless I leave the water.”  _

_ “I’m still processing that you even have a tail,” Sehun sighs and squats down on the wooden boardwalk.  _

_ “Mine is really pretty. Everyone says so. I take really good care of it,” Jongin shares eagerly with a hint of a blush as he studies the handsome human sneaking glances at him. He doesn’t look malicious, like Kyungsoo said. He just looks… curious. And cute. Very cute.  _

_ “Uh… huh.” No comment on his pretty tail. Jongin tilts his head to the side to observe… and realizes-- _

_ “You haven’t told me your name.” Jongin wilts.  _

_ “Sehun,” Sehun mumbles.  _

_ “Sehun?” Jongin echoes. Sehun nods. “Sehun,” Jongin repeats. “Sehun. Sehun. Sehun.” He ducks underwater to flip in excitement. The pretty man has a pretty name. He told Jongin his name.  _

_ “I’m right here,” Sehun whispers under his breath. “Wait, where’d you go?”  _

_ “I’ll be right back,” Jongin trills, busy swimming deeper to reach the sandy floor.  _

_ “You HEARD THAT?”  _

_ “I hear everything,” Jongin murmurs. “Kyungsoo said we have better hearing than you. And eyesight.”  _

_ “So can you see me right now?”  _

_ “You’re so silly,” Jongin giggles. “I’m under the dock right now. Oh, there’s a lot of fish.”  _

_ “Aren’t you half-fish?” Sehun asks mildly.  _

_ “I--” Jongin pouts. “I’m a merman.”  _

_ “Merpeople are half-people, half-fish.”  _

_ “Don’t group me with minnows, I’m  _ **_much_ ** _ prettier.” Jongin finds what he’s looking for and swims back to the surface. “Here you go.” He places a shard of sea glass, smooth around the edges, on the wooden dock and then shuffles backwards, heartbeat racing as Sehun appraises the gift.  _

_ “How did you find this?” Sehun asks.  _

_ “Just now, under the dock.” Jongin gazes up at him with wide eyes.  _

_ “I know. I said how.”  _

_ “In… the sand?” Jongin asks helplessly. “Do you not like it?” he asks quietly, heart sinking slowly.  _

_ “What?” Sehun rubs his temples. He’s beginning to think that he’s missing something here. “I never said that.”  _

_ “Did you keep the pearls yesterday?” Jongin’s brows furrow together.  _

_ “I--” Sehun’s mouth parts in confusion. “Yes? Are you okay?” _

_ “It’s a present,” Jongin’s voice comes out as a whine. He’s being petulant, he knows, but Sehun’s rejecting him, and his heart is shattering into a million pieces. Never mind the dramatics. “For you. Both of them; the pearls and the sea glass. I--thought you would like them.”  _

_ “O-okay.” Sehun can barely see in the dark, but that is most definitely a pout on Jongin’s face, and a glimmer of disappointment in his eyes. He reaches out and carefully palms the piece of sea glass, still wet with seawater. Smooth to the touch, a pretty triangular shape. “Thank you,” he says, a bit uncertain.  _

_ “Why are you such a tease?” Jongin splashes the surface with relief and frustration. “I thought you didn’t like them! I thought you didn’t like me!”  _

_ “YOU--wait, wait, back up.” Sehun holds the piece of sea glass out. “You’re going to have to explain this to me. I don’t understand.” _

_ “The TIDE!” Jongin insists. “The waves! Push and pull!”  _

_ “Jongin--it’s Jongin, right? I--I’ve never heard of that.” Sehun sits down on the dock and crosses his legs in front of him. “What does it mean?”  _

_ “Nobody has ever given you a present before?!” Jongin’s jaw drops. Nobody has ever tried to court this gorgeous of a human being? Do people just not appreciate beauty? Maybe Kyungsoo was right when he said humans don’t have taste.  _

_ “I get presents,” Sehun says slowly. “On my birthday, and on Christmas.”  _

_ “What’s Christmas? Is it courting day?”  _

_ “... Oookay.” Sehun sighs and rubs his face in his hands. “Come--get closer to me. Why are you so far away? I swear I’m not a fisherman. Let’s… talk. I’m curious.”  _

_ So they do, for hours and hours and hours. Jongin explains presents, Sehun explains Christmas and cell phones. Then he talks about televisions, the post office, k-pop, pencils, eyeshadow, avocados, and a million other topics that Jongin has never heard about. In exchange, Jongin tells animated stories about coven wars, shark attacks, seaweed forests, deep sea explorations, and coven hierarchy. Sehun listens intently, never interrupts him, turns the piece of sea glass over and over in his fingers. A piece of Jongin’s heart, apparently. The shyness in his eyes as he tripped over words during the explanation was quite adorable, Sehun will give him that.  _

_ “I have to go,” Jongin says regretfully as the sky begins to lighten. “I’m…” he yawns. “Exhausted,” he murmurs.  _

_ “You’re nocturnal?” Sehun asks.  _

_ “What’s that mean?”  _

_ “You sleep during the daytime. When the sun is out.”  _

_ “Sure…” Jongin shrugs. “I guess. That’s normal, though.”  _

_ “It’s not,” Sehun informs him. “Not for us. We sleep at night.”  _

_ “But you don’t sleep at night. We just talked for the whole night.”  _

_ “I usually sleep at night,” Sehun amends. “But it’s fine, because my sleep schedule is all sorts of fucked up anyway from university.”  _

_ “What’s a university? What’s a fuck?” Jongin asks, and Sehun chokes.  _

_ “I’ll explain later.” Sehun stands up and stretches upwards.  _

_ “Tomorrow?” Jongin asks hopefully.  _

_ “Fuck me, you’re going to make me pull three all-nighters…” Sehun rubs his eyes and sighs.  _

_ “You said it again,” Jongin says matter-of-factly. “Fuck.”  _

_ “It’s a curse word, Jongin.” Sehun sighs. “Well, I guess it can also mean sex.” There’s some incoherent spluttering, and the sound of bubbles as Jongin sinks underwater slowly to hide his red cheeks. Sehun chuckles.  _

_ “So when you said ‘fuck me’…” Jongin whispers faintly.  _

_ “Just a figure of speech,” Sehun shrugs, but he smirks when Jongin’s eyes peek out of the water to stare at him. “I dunno, though. Do mermen hook up?”  _

_ “What’s that?”  _

_ “Do you have sex with other merpeople without being in a relationship? Like, just for fun?”  _

_ “NO!” Jongin’s arms flap wildly at the thought. “YOU DO THAT?!” Sehun simply snickers and watches Jongin make waves of embarrassed protest.  _

_ “The sun is about to rise. You should get back to that Kyungsoo, he seems like an interesting character.”  _

_ “Tomorrow,” Jongin insists, cheekbones still tinged with pink.  _

_ “Tomorrow it is. Hey--” Sehun calls. “If--you don’t see me on the dock--”  _

_ “Why wouldn’t I?” Jongin’s eyes widen with worry.  _

_ “Sometimes my friends come here, so I wouldn’t be able to meet you in that case,” Sehun explains quickly. “If you don’t see me, leave me something, okay? Right here.” Sehun kneels down and taps the corner of the dock. “So I know to try again tomorrow.”  _

_ “Like a present?” Jongin’s heart is hammering. “You… want me to leave you presents?”  _

_ “Sure, Jongin.”  _

_ ~~ _

“You’re thinking really hard,” is the first thing Jongin murmurs drowsily after he wakes up and reads Sehun’s aura. It turns bright purple with surprise. 

“You’re finally awake,” is all he says. 

“Sleep better with you,” Jongin whispers, nuzzling his face into Sehun’s neck. Warm, comfy human. Sehun’s love tinges red at the edges. 

“Who made you this cute, darling?” Sehun murmurs, turning into putty even though his arm is numb from Jongin lying on it. Jongin blushes so hard that he’s sure his cheekbones stain permanently pink. Affection is sunset orange, and it bleeds from his boyfriend until it seeps into his gray bed sheets. “As much as I would love to cuddle you until dinnertime,” Sehun peppers kisses into Jongin’s hair and forehead, “we have a bonfire night to go to. You down, princeling?” Jongin nods happily. He’ll go anywhere Sehun wants. 

\----

“Hey, Nini!” Jongdae waves excitedly as Jongin lets go of the cliff and falls back into Sehun’s waiting arms. “You’re back!” Jongin gives him a shy smile and waves as he approaches the group of humans with his boyfriend. The small fire is already flickering, and beach towels are spread out in a circle around the sand pit.

“Oh, don’t worry about me,” Sehun grumbles good-naturedly. “Just greet the boyfie, that’s fine.” 

“I saw you yesterday,” Jongdae dismisses while Minseok giggles. “How was your flight?” he asks Jongin, not unkindly. 

“Good,” Jongin answers simply. Probably not. From what Sehun has told him, airplanes sound terrifying. 

“Hey, look who’s here,” a cheery voice says from behind him, and Jongin turns around to accept Chanyeol’s high-five and Baekhyun’s hug. “Welcome back, Nini. Sehun’s been moping for two weeks without you.” 

“I have not,” Sehun defends, although Jongin’s hand squeezes tighter at this news. “This guy likes to make things up.” 

“You didn’t miss me?” Jongin asks, and Sehun falters. Baekhyun snickers with Chanyeol. 

“Simp,” Baekhyun fake-whispers. 

“I missed you. I told you already.” Sehun pats Jongin’s head, then tugs him to sit down on a towel. “Yeol, he’s been asking for your music.” 

“Oh, really?” Chanyeol’s eyes light up happily and he gives Jongin a brilliant, dimpled smile. “Just let me warm up,” he promises, already strumming chords on his acoustic guitar. Sehun gets up to help with the food, leaving Jongin to zone out and stare at the waves lapping up onto the shore. 

“Hey.” Jongdae takes a seat next to him while his boyfriend and Sehun pass out the marshmallows for s’mores. “How have you been?” 

“Okay.” Jongin gives him a shy smile. He likes kind Jongdae a lot. Actually, all of Sehun’s friends are nice to him, even if he doesn’t quite fit in with humans. He’s gotten better at it over the years, though. 

“We saw a mermaid here a few days ago,” Jongdae shares excitedly. “Minseok and I.” 

“Really?” Jongin asks, knowing full well it was him, drifting closer towards the shore out of excitement for when he can finally shift, and out of longing to see Sehun. “You believe in mermaids?” 

“Yes.” Jongdae nods excitedly. 

“Why?” Jongin wants to know. 

“Why not?” Jongdae shrugs. “Sometimes they pop up on the news. I think they’re real, even if your boyfie doesn’t think so.” At this, Jongin giggles. “Do you believe in them?” Jongin gazes out at the waves, the setting sun, and finds his coven, hidden deep under the sea. 

“Yes.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly have no idea where this is going. It's just a bunch of fluff with an extremely minor plotline. Nothing substantial is going to happen XD. Regardless, thank you for the sweet comments, and for reading ^_^ Hope you guys don't mind the aimless tooth-rotting fluff.   
> ALSO!!!! If you have any scenes you would like me to write, please leave a comment! <3


	5. beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For kingkaihun. Hope you enjoy <3

Being with Jongin is easy, but not in the conventional way. Sehun is fully aware that they are, of course, not at all a ‘normal’ couple, but it doesn’t really matter to him. He’s more than happy to spend his days reading to Jongin while the merman soaks in the small bathtub next to him, tan cheek resting against the porcelain, golden fins trailing out onto the tiled floor. Jongin stares up at Sehun while he reads, watching strands of brown hair fall into his eyes as the intonation of his voice rises and falls with his narration. It’s peaceful with just the two of them. Sehun likes it this way. 

“Hunnie?” Jongin speaks quietly when Sehun pauses between sentences. 

“Yeah.” 

“What are we doing after?” 

“After you take a bath?” Sehun sighs. “I don’t know, what do you want to do?” 

“Movie,” Jongin murmurs, sinking lower into the water and absentmindedly flicking his thumb and forefinger to make bubbles. Sehun watches him with vague interest. 

“Well, that’s easy. What movie?” 

“Anything.” 

“You just want cuddles,” Sehun deduces. “Okay, princeling.” And he goes back to reading while Jongin slumps even further so that his face disappears under the water. Sehun’s voice is still crystal clear while Jongin blows bubble rings that pop silently when they reach the surface. 

“Hunnie,” Jongin calls again. Sehun glances up. “Kiss for you.” He makes a watery heart-shaped bubble and giggles when Sehun good-naturedly dips his hand into the tub to catch it. 

“Fuck, the water is freezing, Nini.” 

“It’s the perfect temperature,” Jongin argues. 

“If you say so.” Sehun watches Jongin’s hair float dreamily around his face while the merman makes trails of bubbles and little currents in his bathtub. Magic by human standards, but learned skills for him, Jongin explained a while back. “I’ll be right back,” Sehun murmurs, bookmarking the page and standing up from his stool. 

“Where are you going?” Jongin whines. He’d only been showing off because he knows Sehun likes watching him. 

“Just forgot to grab a towel.” Sehun returns with fluffy white ones that he tosses onto the closed toilet seat. Jongin sends him a flurry of bubble hearts when he sits back down. Sehun scoots closer to the tub and sluices water over the portion of his elegant, golden tail that hangs out of the tub, passing a gentle hand over the scales. Jongin shivers at the dull, muted sensation of Sehun’s touch. 

“Do you like me better in merman or human form?” Jongin inquires as Sehun reaches for the small bottle of rosehip oil and spills a few drops into the tub for Jongin’s skin and scales. 

“You’re pretty either way,” Sehun answers evenly, watching his boyfriend blink up at him curiously, still submerged underwater. 

“But which do you like more?” Jongin insists. 

“I like you in human form because I get to spend time with you; I like you in merman form because that’s what you’re most comfortable with. Can’t choose.” Jongin is silent for a minute as he digests this information, then he blows a stream of bubbles through the water as he sighs. 

“I’m ready to get out now.” He pulls his face out of the water and brushes sopping wet hair back from his face. 

“‘Kay.” Sehun reaches down and pulls the plug to let the water drain, intertwining their fingers together when Jongin starts to wince in discomfort. “Shhh, shhh. Look at me.” Sehun drops small kisses across his face while Jongin whines at the burning sensation of transformation. “Good boy, you’re almost done.” 

“I hate that,” Jongin grumbles, pulling newly formed legs up to his chest in the empty tub. 

“I know, princeling.” Sehun holds a towel out for him. “Come on, don’t catch a cold on me in the dead of summer. I’m going to go start dinner, okay? And we can eat and watch that movie.” 

“Okay,” Jongin agrees easily, drying himself off. He takes his time raiding Sehun’s closet, choosing a soft, oversized shirt that smells just like his boyfriend; clean laundry and a hint of sea salt. He pulls on a pair of boxers under the towel before unwinding it from his waist, then wanders into the kitchen to find Sehun chopping up… is it basil? Jongin’s still not familiar with human ingredients. He wraps his arms around Sehun’s waist and presses his forehead between Sehun’s shoulder blades, breathing in his scent, briefly taking the time to read Sehun’s aura, a neutral, contented pale blue. “What’s for dinner?” Jongin asks. 

“You,” Sehun answers without missing a beat. 

“Huh?” Jongin blinks, confused when Sehun smirks to himself. “What? What does it mean?” 

“It means I’m going to eat you,” Sehun murmurs, chuckling when Jongin’s resounding whine is one of perplexion. 

“You’re going to cook me?” 

“No, darling.” Sehun transfers the freshly chopped herbs into a bowl of tomato sauce and waddles over to the stove with an extremely clingy mermaid still attached to him.

“Sehunnie, I don’t understand.” 

“Mmmm, I might explain it to you later if the movie gets boring.” Sehun opens the lid of the pot of boiling water to toss a handful of angel hair pasta in. “For now, it’s just spaghetti and meatballs.”

\----

Jongin almost purrs as Sehun pulls him close on the couch and hands him a bowl of pasta. 

“Wanna try something with me?” Sehun asks nonchalantly, mouth working upwards into a wry smile. 

“What?” 

“Stay still.” Sehun plucks a strand of sauce-covered pasta out of his bowl and feeds one end of it into Jongin’s mouth. “Don’t bite it,” he murmurs, placing the other end in between his own lips. Jongin watches him with curious eyes. “Start eating,” Sehun prompts. Jongin copies him obediently, steadily flushing more and more pink as they get closer. Sehun laughs when the pasta between them breaks and their lips touch. “Was that fun?” In response, Jongin leans deeper into the kiss. Sehun’s eyelids flutter shut as he kisses back, tasting tomato sauce on his boyfriend’s lips, but sweet honeysuckle in his mouth. “Ah, shit.” Sehun pulls away to place both their bowls on the coffee table before slotting his mouth between Jongin’s upper lip, enfolding his Cupid’s bow in a gentle suck. Jongin whimpers. 

“This is what I meant when I said you were dinner,” Sehun murmurs, kissing Jongin’s cheek gently. 

“Sex?” Jongin asks shyly, the prettiest shade of rose covering his nose and cheeks. Sehun smirks. 

“You like being on the menu?” 

\----

Boyfriend fucked, pasta consumed, and lights dimmed, Sehun falls asleep in Jongin’s arms halfway through the movie, snoring softly in his ear. It’s nice and domestic. The merman strokes Sehun’s hair away from his face absentmindedly, still mostly absorbed in the plot of the movie. Just another human thing that Jongin has slowly learned to love. Sehun is warm against Jongin’s side, pliant and relaxed in slumber. 

“Sehunnie,” Jongin shakes the human’s shoulder when the credits roll. Sehun burrows against Jongin’s neck and reluctantly wakes up. “Maybe you should go to bed.” 

“Loveyou,” Sehun murmurs as a reply, still half-asleep. Jongin flushes with happiness. 

“I love you.” Jongin scoops Sehun up in his arms and, despite being shaky on legs, carries Sehun into bed before climbing in beside him. “Sleep, my Sehunnie,” Jongin whispers, pulling the covers over them just like Sehun does every morning for him. Sehun’s eyes flutter closed again while Jongin goes pliant. His eyes drift to the jars of presents, omnipresent on Sehun’s nightstand, filled with years of love and longing. Jongin gives seashells when he has a bad day, or if he misses Sehun. He tries to pick unbroken, unique shapes for his boyfriend. Soon, Sehun will have to get another jar for those, Jongin muses. Then there’s sea glass, which Sehun seems to like the most. The first piece that Jongin ever gave him is in there somewhere, buried under hundreds of more pieces, each of which hold a little message for Sehun. 

_ How are you?  _

_ Come visit me. _

_ Only one week left.  _

_ Border patrol is so boring…  _

_ I went sunbathing today.  _

_ Sehunnie, I saw you today with Chanyeol ^_^  _

_ Jongdae is good at surfing. King Junmyeon said so. _

_ I want blackberry swirl ice cream. _

_ Another courter came by today. Not as cute as you. _

_ I think Kyungsoo wishes I was human so I would stop pining. Hehe. _

Of course, Sehun can’t read them, but Jongin likes to think that he can. The words float into his brain as he stares at the pieces in the dark, almost like rereading old text messages. Next to them are pearls of all different sizes and colors. Jongin glances at the one on his own wrist, strung on a thin black cord that matches with the bracelet on Sehun’s wrist. They’re the two pearls that he first gave Sehun when he dropped his phone into the water all those years ago. 

~~

_ Jongin meanders alone along the sidewalk, bypassing tourists and townspeople who either offer him a friendly nod or simply mind their own business. It’s not much different from back home, Jongin muses. When Sehun had first offered to take him on land, it had taken several nights of trial and error just to get up the cliff. Then came the incessant questions about street lamps, the adjustment to hard concrete, and getting over Jongin’s fear of cars. All the while, Sehun had been patient and understanding, watching Jongin slowly get used to life on land. Now, Jongin doesn’t transform every new moon, but once in a while he does, just because he wants to see Sehun. He pulls on the door of the arcade and walks into the darkened room, trying his best to ignore the flashing neon lights and confusing sounds. Sehun leans against the counter, laughing and talking with some girl. Jongin watches shyly against the wall, but Sehun doesn’t seem to notice that he’s even there, instead holding his hand up for a high-five and clasping the girl’s hand for a second longer than necessary. He blushes at something she says, and rubs his hand over the back of his neck sheepishly, murmuring something under his breath. Cold washes over Jongin and all the confidence he had disappears, to be replaced by lonely sadness. Sehun has other friends, friends who are like him; human, and who he sees everyday. Jongin is a merman; clumsy, out of place, strange. Of course… Jongin pushes the door open and leaves just as quickly as he arrived.  _

_ “Hey, isn’t that him?” Joy remarks, looking towards the door that is swinging closed. Sehun looks up in surprise. “Your boyfriend?”  _

_ “For the last time, he’s not my boyfriend,” Sehun sighs, but that’s definitely Jongin outside the arcade, slowly walking away.  _

_ “Not your boyfriend yet,” Joy corrects. “Go get him, tiger.”  _

_ “S’complicated,” Sehun murmurs, feeling knots twist up in his chest and butterflies exploding in the pit of his stomach at the very thought of Jongin.  _

_ “Not at all. Just go talk to him, I’ll cover your shift. Go.” Joy shoves him. “He probably stopped by to see you.”  _

_ “I--he wasn’t even supposed to land until tomorrow…” Sehun murmurs. Did Jongin really get up the cliff on his own?”  _

_ “Well, he’s here NOW, isn’t he? Don’t be such a pussy. You get an extra day with him!”  _

_ “I’m not sure--”  _

_ “Goodbye!” Joy trills happily as Sehun walks out from the counter. “Let me know how it goes!”  _

_ “Jongin!” Sehun calls, pushing the door open in pursuit of the merman. Jongin stops in his tracks, although it wouldn’t have been that difficult to catch up to him if he had decided to keep walking. “Hey.” Sehun’s voice softens. “You’re here early. It’s good to see you.” Jongin stares at him sadly, sea green eyes brimming with uncertainty. “What’s wrong?” Sehun asks. “Did something happen?”  _

_ “No.” Jongin lies.  _

_ “You climbed up on your own?” Sehun presses, walking alongside Jongin. “Were you trying to surprise me?” Jongin shrugs dismissively. “Nini?” Sehun sounds truly perplexed, and a little sad. He was looking forward to seeing Jongin again, but this time is already off to a bad start. The merman is usually never this quiet over anything, not even a bad day.  _

_ “Mmm!” Jongin flinches away when Sehun lays a gentle hand on his shoulder. His crush jerks back as if he’s been struck by lightning, and confused tears well up in Jongin’s eyes. Why is Sehun still being so nice to him if he has other friends?  _

_ “Jongin, did I do something?” Sehun asks helplessly, slowly trailing behind Jongin until they get back to his little cottage. “Jongin…” he calls softly, but Jongin makes a beeline for Sehun’s room and the jars of presents that he has left for months now. The sea glass ripples in front of his eyes as he rewinds all the secret confessions he slips into them every time he places a new present on the dock.  _

_ I want to see you again.  _

_ Sehun, I… miss you…  _

_ I wish you would hug me more.  _

_ Do you think of me like I think of you?  _

_ Kyungsoo says I should stop visiting you, but I don’t want to.  _

_ I like you so much, Sehun. _

_ Wishful thinking. Jongin lets out a hurt little whimper when he hears Sehun’s footsteps behind him.  _

_ “Nini,” Sehun sounds hurt and worried. “Why? Why are you crying? I didn’t even know you could cry,” he mutters, wiping salty tears off of Jongin’s cheeks. “Did I do something wrong?”  _

_ “Why didn’t you tell me you had a girlfriend?”  _

_ “What?” Sehun’s heart rate doubles, and electric blue anxiety glows around him in spikes. “Who am I dating? Nini, I-I’m not dating anyone.”  _

_ “Who’s that girl?” Jongin asks miserably.  _

_ “My coworker?” Sehun inquires. “Just a friend.” It suddenly clicks. “Are you jealous?” Jongin pouts at him with red-rimmed eyes. “I--I’m not… Nini, read my aura, I don’t…” Sehun wraps Jongin up into a tender, soft hug. “I hope this is okay,” Sehun whispers, but Jongin fists his hands into the human’s shirt and buries his head against Sehun’s broad shoulders. A hug from Sehun. Jongin will treasure it, even if they’ve hugged before. This one feels a little different. “Please don’t cry. If you transform, I’m going to have to carry you to the bathtub, and your tail is really slippery.”  _

_ “It doesn’t work like that,” Jongin whines. “I can’t transform because I’m crying, dumbass.”  _

_ “Alright, alright.” Sehun pulls away from the hug and pushes Jongin to sit down on the bed, taking a seat next to him. “Aish…” he looks slightly sheepish.  _

_ “You don’t have a girlfriend?” Jongin asks.  _

_ “Haven’t we been over this before?” Sehun rubs his hand across his face. “I don’t have a significant other.”  _

_ “Do you want one?” Jongin’s lower lip trembles. Sehun hesitates and fidgets.  _

_ “Yeah.” His voice is small, nervous.  _

_ “Who?” Jongin asks immediately, feeling his mending heart split in two again. “The girl?”  _

_ “No. No, no.” Sehun licks his lips. “Now’s not really a good time…”  _

_ “Who is it?” Jongin asks insistently. He has to know.  _

_ “I--” Sehun’s straight eyebrows furrow together as he sighs, then pulls something out from his pocket. “I don’t know if this is okay, but I got you a present.” Jongin’s breath catches in his throat at this, and he stares at Sehun in disbelief. “I had to alter the pearls a little, but I promise I was careful.” Sehun presses something into Jongin’s hand. “I’m sure… you’ll recognize them.” Jongin looks down and lets out a tiny ‘oh’ of surprise at the two bracelets resting in his palm, a singular pearl threaded through the black cord. “It’s one for you, and one for me… maybe,” Sehun explains, butterflies swirling in the pit of his stomach. “For humans, jewelry is a common gift for… significant others.”  _

_ “Me?” Jongin’s voice is so tiny and disbelieving that Sehun’s heart cracks a little. Has he been that aloof with the merman? _

_ “You. If you want.” Sehun watches Jongin’s face anxiously. Even with puffy eyes, he still looks adorable as he sniffs and gently curls his fingers over the bracelets.  _

_ “I want it.”  _

_ “Okay.” Sehun is surprised by how calm his voice sounds. “Okay.” He heaves a long, relieved sigh. “Do you want me to put yours on for you?” In response, Jongin holds his palm out and extends his right wrist. He watches as Sehun slides the bracelet on, then tightens it.  _

_ “I want to do it for you,” Jongin whispers, surprise and heartbreak slowly being replaced by shyness.  _

_ “Alright, princeling.” Sehun obediently extends his hand and lets Jongin tie the bracelet around his wrist. “Thank you.”  _

_ “Are we boyfriends?” Jongin asks timidly, feeling warmth blossom in his chest as Sehun’s eyes crinkle up into crescents.  _

_ “Yes, darling. You’re my boyfriend now.”  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More fluff, what's new...  
> Aren't they cute? I'm always so soft when I write this fic ;-;  
> I got a sweet comment requesting jealous!Jongin and slightly oblivious!Sehun, I hope I delivered on your expectations~  
> If you have any scenes you would like me to write, feel free to leave them in the comments because it really is just a sweet, fluffy sekai fic with a meandering plotline ;)  
> Thank you for reading, as always! ^_^


	6. lilies

“Where are you going?” A hand grabs at the back of his shirt. Sehun turns around to see Jongin rubbing his puffy eyes blearily, a petulant, curious pout settled across his expression. 

“Grocery store.” Sehun brushes Jongin’s sleep-mussed hair as best he can. “Go back to sleep, princeling.” 

“I want to go.” 

“I just need to grab stuff for this week.” Sehun sighs patiently. “It’s only afternoon, you should sleep some more. Go on. Let’s get you back in bed, hmm?” Jongin’s hand tightens around the hem of Sehun’s shirt. “Baby, look at you, you’re basically sleepwalking.” 

“M’awake!” Jongin insists, blinking a few times and gazing at Sehun pleadingly. “I’ll go with you.” 

“Why do you like going to the store so much?” Sehun laughs helplessly, giving in all too easily and holding his hand out for Jongin to clasp. 

“So much stuff to look at.” The merman skips happily along the sidewalk, excitedly pulling a half-amused, much more mellow Sehun behind him. “So much food.” 

“Okay, valid,” Sehun concedes. “Did you want something in particular?” 

“Cereal.” 

“Oh. Also valid.” He pulls Jongin back to his side as they walk into town so they don’t trip up any tourists on the sidewalks. 

“Can I have a kiss?” Jongin asks suddenly while they wait for the pedestrian crossing to turn green. 

“Right now? So suddenly?” Sehun brushes a light one across his cheek. 

“Another,” Jongin demands, turning sea green eyes to his boyfriend. He looks radiant in the mid-afternoon sunshine. 

“I will give you all the kisses you want once we cross this street,” Sehun promises, chuckling at the merman’s constant impulsive wants. Sehun leaves the next one on Jongin’s forehead. “Happy? One more?” 

“One more,” Jongin echoes shyly. The tip of his nose gets pecked, and he giggles. He and Sehun completely ignore the tourists who either steal curious glances or shamelessly stare at their interactions as they meander along the sidewalk, stopping to glance into storefront windows or wave at familiar faces. When you live in the same town for your whole life, everyone is a close friend. And Sehun is beginning to rather enjoy having Jongin along for his grocery run. 

If it were just himself, he would’ve just… run the errand. But with his boyfriend delighting in everything from tacky tourist t-shirts to the seagulls that fly overhead, it seems as if every moment is special. Sehun has never bothered to laugh so much on a trip to the store before, but Jongin does. And since his merman always looks at Sehun to gauge his reaction, he finds himself smiling, too.

“Let me hold it.” Jongin takes the basket from Sehun’s arm when they finally step into the store, and a blast of air conditioner cools both of them down. 

“Mmkay.” Sehun takes his time going through his mental checklist. Lots of fruit for smoothies. Broccoli and carrots for dinner later. Cherries, because Jongin eyes them curiously the entire time they’re in the produce section. “You’ve had those before, love.” 

“Are they good? I forgot.” 

“I think you liked them.” Sehun drops them into the basket. “Remember, they have a pit in the middle that you have to spit out when you eat them.” 

“Okay.” Jongin gets distracted by the flowers. Sehun watches him for a while, then walks over and picks up the lily and sea grass bouquet that his boyfriend keeps glancing at. He likes pretty things; this one must have caught his eye. 

“Princeling. For you, alright?” Sehun holds it out to him. “A present.” Jongin positively squeals with delight. “Don’t crush them.” Sehun laughs as the merman throws his arms around his waist and squeezes. “Do you want them?” Jongin nods shyly, touching the velvety soft petals reverently. “They’re yours, then. Let’s go.” 

“Thank youuu,” Jongin’s eyes are big and soft when he looks at his boyfriend adoringly. clutching tightly to his flowers and the basket of groceries. Sehun smiles indulgently, then turns his attention to the freshly-baked bread. 

“Do you want me to hold something?” Sehun asks, extending his palm for either the basket or the flowers. 

“You’re busy picking things out, I can hold it.” 

“Let me take this.” Sehun gently tugs the basket out of Jongin’s grip. “And you go get the cereal you want. It’s probably somewhere over there.” Sehun waves a hand towards the aisles. 

“Okay.” Jongin walks away, still clutching tightly to his flowers. When he comes back, there’s the distinct sound of two boxes dropping into the basket. Sehun glances down, then up at Jongin. 

“Two?” 

“You like this one, don’t you?” Jongin asks shyly. Sehun’s lips part in surprise, then he reaches out to ruffle the merman’s hair. 

“Thank you, princeling.” 

\----

Once they get back home, Jongin is worn out again, having woken up early to go shopping. With some coaxing, Sehun manages to get him back into bed for a couple more hours while he settles down to do some minor work. He’s just finishing up when the distinct tinkling sound of glass shattering comes from the kitchen, followed by Jongin’s shriek. Sehun rushes out from his study to see his boyfriend, standing frozen with fear in the middle of the kitchen. At his feet, shards of broken glass lay in puddles of spilled water from the mug he had evidently dropped. Sehun blinks silently until he pieces together what happened. 

“Don’t move.” He carefully approaches the mess to pick out the bigger pieces of broken glass. 

“I’m sorry,” Jongin whispers, still frightened by the crash and his own mistake.

“S’okay.” Sehun reaches for a rag to soak up the water. “Step over there and come around. Be careful.” 

“I--” Jongin fidgets with the hem of his shirt nervously. “Clumsy.” 

“I can tell.” Sehun chuckles as he cleans up.

“Are you mad?” 

“Of course not. M’never mad at you.” He looks over at Jongin, who is standing near the dinner table where the vase of lilies sits. “Could you go grab me the broom in the closet near the bathroom, please?” Jongin scampers away, anxious to be as helpful as he can. “Thank you.” 

“Are you sure you’re not mad?” At this, Sehun scrunches his nose up and snaps his teeth at Jongin playfully. 

“I’m furious.” Jongin giggles, reassured. “When did you wake up?” 

“Just now.” The merman bites his lip. 

“Well, alright.” Sehun stands up and dumps the contents of the dustpan in the trash. “Here, put this back, I’ll get you some water.” 

“Sorry.” 

“It’s just a cup.” Sehun presses a chaste kiss to Jongin’s lips when he moves to take the broom and dustpan. “Good evening, darling. Do you want to go on a walk with me in a few minutes?”

“Okieee.” 

\----

“Look.” Jongin points to a group of wildflowers growing with the rugged shrubbery along the sidewalk. “Daisy.” 

“Yep.” Sehun stops and waits for Jongin to pick one. The merman twirls the stem curiously as he examines the flower. 

“Yixing said if you pluck the petals off, you can tell if the person you like likes you back. He said he tried it with his human boyfriend.” 

“It’s just a silly little game.” Sehun chuckles. “But if you want, you can try.” 

“He loves me.” Jongin pinches a delicate white petal off of the daisy and places it in Sehun’s waiting palm. “He loves me not.” Sehun watches as the flower slowly loses its decoration. “He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me.” Jongin’s movements slow down as the petals become fewer and fewer. “He loves me not. He loves me.” The merman places the second to last petal in Sehun’s hand, then gazes down at the forlorn remaining one. His brows furrow as he looks up at the human. “He loves me… not?” He whispers.

“He loves you always.” Sehun tells him firmly, plucking the petal off of the bare flower and scattering them to the wind. Jongin watches the petals float away, still unsure. “Princeling.” Sehun wraps his arms around Jongin’s waist and pulls him in. “It’s just a game. You want more flowers, I’ll give you more flowers. You want to try again?” Jongin shakes his head and bites his lip. Sehun laughs softly to himself as he places his hand under Jongin’s chin to make his boyfriend look him in the eye. “He loves you more than anything, darling.” Sehun presses a kiss to the merman’s lips. “He loves you so much that the flower doesn’t know how to show you.” 

“Really?” Jongin murmurs. 

“Really,” Sehun promises. “Why would you believe a daisy more than me, huh?” 

“Will he buy me ice cream?” Jongin asks hopefully, and that’s how Sehun knows he’s alright again. 

“He’ll buy you ice cream.” Sehun laughs, twining their fingers together. “Come on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something short and healing to relieve some stress. Hope you guys liked it ^_^  
> Comments are always loved~


	7. sea glass

Jongin walks out from the bedroom, rubbing grits of sleep out of his eyes to find Sehun chopping ingredients up for dinner by the stove. 

“Sehunnie,” the merman murmurs, words half-slurred as he slowly wakes up. Sehun doesn’t answer; he just keeps cutting vegetables silently. “What’s for dinner?” Jongin asks. 

“Don’t know.” Sehun sounds tired, and his answers are unusually impatient. Jongin grows worried almost instantly. 

“Sehunnie?” Jongin whispers, approaching his boyfriend from behind, but reluctant to reach out and hug him lest he did something wrong. “Are you okay?” Sehun huffs. Jongin’s outstretched hand curls into a nervous fist against his chest. “I--what--did--did I do something?” 

“No.” Very convincing. Jongin’s gut twists uncomfortably, automatically feeling guilty. 

“Do you need help?” he asks timidly. Sehun jerks his head towards the basket of unwashed tomatoes in the sink. “Er--I can’t--” Jongin winces apologetically. “Water.” 

Sehun inhales slowly and deeply, as if trying to calm himself down. “Right.” He drops the knife with a loud clatter onto the cutting board. “Let’s switch, then.” He sighs and moves towards the tomatoes. 

“Sehun… nie.” Jongin is both scared and confused. “What did I do?” he whispers, picking up the knife with shaking hands and positioning his fingers around the bell pepper like Sehun taught him. 

“I said you didn’t do anything!” Sehun’s raised voice at the end of the sentence makes Jongin flinch. A quick, sharp pain shoots through his index finger and he yanks his hand away. Big, red droplets of blood ooze out from the cut as Jongin cradles his injured hand. He looks up at Sehun pleadingly, who looks stricken. “Shit. Shit.” The faucet gets turned off, and Sehun reaches for a paper towel to dry his hands off before walking out of the kitchen. Jongin watches him go, swallowing the lump in his throat. He looks down at his finger, which is now bleeding profusely. First aid. Sehun keeps it in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Jongin takes a few steps forward, but his (angry) boyfriend comes back into the kitchen, carrying the kit already. Jongin watches him cautiously, half-relieved, half-anxious. 

“Come here.” Sehun holds Jongin’s finger under the water to rinse it, then examines the cut. It isn’t deep, and it’s already started clotting. He dabs some ointment on it then carefully wraps it in a band-aid. “I’m sorry I scared you.” His voice is resigned. 

“I’m sorry.” Jongin drops his gaze to the floor. 

“For what?” 

“Whatever I did. I’m sorry. Please--please don’t be mad anymore.” The merman’s eyes well up with tears. Sehun sighs, long and heavy. 

“I’m starting to think you don’t listen to anything I say.” 

“I do listen,” Jongin whimpers. He so badly wants to wrap his arms around Sehun’s waist and receive a comforting hug, but his fear of rejection keeps him from doing so. 

“Then why won’t you believe me when I already said you didn’t do anything?” Sehun discards the band-aid packaging in the trash, then reaches for the soap to wash his hands. 

“B-because you keep y-yelling and your voice is s... so loud…” Jongin trails off and sniffles when a hand caresses his hair. 

“Oh no. Oh, shit.” Sehun’s straight eyebrows furrow together frustratedly when he sees the tears on Jongin’s cheeks. “No, no, princeling, please don’t cry. I’m sorry for scaring you, darling.” He wipes them away as fast as they come, and only then does Jongin step forward and bury his face against Sehun’s shoulder. “Don’t cry, don’t cry. It’s my fault.” Sehun rubs his back soothingly. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.” 

“Why are you upset?” Jongin asks, looking up at Sehun’s weary face with a pout. “I can--I want to help. I don’t like seeing you so upset.” 

“Fucking tourists,” Sehun mutters under his breath. “I had a really bad day at work.” He purses his lips and scowls. “Some people--their brains are so fucking smooth--” 

“What?” Jongin mumbles through his remaining tears. 

“--literally NO brain cells, I swear to God--” 

“Sehunnie,” Jongin hiccups, “you’re not making any sense.” Sehun stops rambling. 

“Just a bad day,” Sehun croons softly. “You don’t need to worry.” He brushes his thumb under the soft of Jongin’s eye to wipe away any last invisible tears. “I love you, my princeling.” 

“Don’t be angry.” Jongin cups his boyfriend’s cheek and leans in to kiss him. Sehun accepts readily, relaxing when his lips touch the merman’s. “It’s not your problem anymore,” Jongin soothes when they pull away for breath. 

“You’re right. It’s not.” Sehun kisses Jongin’s forehead lightly. “Thank you.” 

“I love you.” 

“And I, you.” Sehun brushes Jongin’s bangs out of his face to see that the irises of his eyes have turned his favorite shade of purple. “Pretty,” he murmurs. Compliments mean the most to merpeople, he remembers. “I have the best princeling.” Jongin blushes, pleased. 

“Hunnie?” 

“What is it?” 

Jongin sighs quietly. “I… I want to go back to the ocean.” At this, Sehun glances towards the lunar cycle calendar he has on the kitchen countertop. 

“Don’t you still have a couple weeks?” he asks worriedly. “Are you feeling alright?” He presses the back of his hand to Jongin’s forehead, feeling for a telltale dehydrated fever. 

“M’not dehydrated… it’s like an itch. I need to go back; doesn’t have to be the coven. I think instead of a bath, I’ll go soak for a few hours when the sun goes down some more.” 

“Do you want me to come with you?” Sehun offers. “I could use a swim. Or I’ll just sit on the dock and keep you company.” 

“You want to?” Jongin’s eyes light up in excitement. “Like a date?” 

“It can be a date if you want it to be.” Sehun tilts his head down to kiss Jongin again. “Heaven knows I could use a night with you.” 

\---- 

Jongin sighs in relief as he dives gracefully at the end of the dock and transitions back to his natural form. On the dock, Sehun lays down their towels and folds Jongin’s discarded clothes neatly before pulling his shirt over his head and jumping into the black water behind the merman. If he were with anyone else, this would be a stupid idea. It’s too dark to see anything, and the moon’s illumination only provides dim outlines that fade away if Sehun strays too far from the dock. But Jongin clasps Sehun’s hand, and he could find his boyfriend even if he somehow managed to float hundreds of miles away. For him, the ocean is his home. Sehun couldn’t be safer even if he had a team of adept divers and high powered lamps by his side. 

“Feel better?” Sehun asks, treading water slowly. Jongin saves him the trouble and holds him up with arms wrapped around his waist. 

“Much better.” Jongin relaxes. “Just so you know, you can go home early if you want. I might stay here for a while.” 

“Don’t worry about that.” Sehun shivers as Jongin generates currents of water underneath him to keep him upright on his own. It feels like he’s caught in a whirlpool, except instead of sucking him down, it’s keeping his head above water. “Magical little princeling.” 

“No,” Jongin giggles. “This is easy. Stay here.” 

“I can’t go anywhere even if I wanted to, love,” Sehun says, chuckling.

“You can swim with it!” Jongin assures him before diving deep. Sehun amuses himself by doggy paddling in little circles with his helpful water currents. Fascinating. Human significant others have completely lost their appeal after this. Far beneath him, and maybe several feet away--Sehun has no idea--Jongin giggles. “You are so cute.” 

“Not all of us are mermen,” Sehun grumbles, switching to a butterfly stroke so he doesn’t look so inept. 

“You’re going the wrong way,” Jongin’s voice trills. “I’m over here.” 

“Where is ‘over here’?” 

“Uh, turn. Keep turning. Keep going--stop. Okay, swim.” 

“How far are we from the dock?” Sehun cranes his neck around, but the night has already swallowed the details of his location. 

“Oh, we’re still close. You can’t go that far after all, and I’m feeling lazy, so we’re just going to stay here.” 

“Whatever you say.” Sehun swims blindly through the dark water, uncaring of his position. He just lets the feeling of water and exercise wash away the remnants of a dreary day. “Jesus, Jongin, how far did you go?” he calls into the darkness after he runs out of stamina. 

“You swam even further than me. I’ve been making circles under you.” Sehun feels the bubbles against his skin before Jongin’s head pops up out of the water right next to him. “It’s deep here. Well, not deep for me, but deep for you.” 

“Uh huh.” Sehun flails as the currents under him dissipate, not used to having to tread water, but Jongin pulls him into his arms safely. “Give me a kiss, darling, I have no idea where your face is.” 

“Your eyesight is so bad.” Jongin leans in sweetly, tasting of salt and honeysuckle. One of his hands leaves the small of Sehun’s back to make a bubble that covers both of their heads as Jongin lets them sink underwater. 

“You really like your underwater kisses,” Sehun murmurs between gentle sucks of Jongin’s bottom lip. Jongin just sighs happily and pulls his boyfriend even closer. 

“They’re so romantic.” 

“Mhm.” Sehun cups Jongin’s face in between both hands and kisses him on the lips, one, two, three times. Then he leaves pecks all over the merman’s nose and cheeks. Jongin giggles and blushes the entire time. 

“Are you cold?” Jongin asks worriedly. “Should we go back?” 

“Once I start swimming again, I’ll be alright.” 

“Okay.” Jongin gently pulls his head out of the bubble. “You can swim a while now, if you want.” He dives deep, leaving Sehun to swim around in the murky waters.

“Where are you going?” Sehun asks, feeling very much like an astronaut lost in space. 

“Just… searching.” Jongin hums. “Do you like pearls or sea glass better?” 

“Anything is fine, princeling.” Sehun stops paddling, amused. Of course Jongin was looking for presents. 

“What are you in the mood for today?” Jongin insists.

“Glass, then.” 

“I’ll find you a pretty piece.” 

“Thank you, darling.” Without having to worry about oxygen, Sehun dives deeper below the surface until his ears start popping from pressure. 

“Sehunnie, don’t go any deeper.” Jongin cuts gracefully through the water to reach his boyfriend. “It’s jagged.” 

“Mkay.” 

“Here.” Jongin presses the sea glass into Sehun’s hand shyly. “This is for you.” 

“Is there a message?” Sehun asks, curling his fingers around the precious present. 

“Yes. I’ll tell you when we get home.” Jongin giggles and clasps Sehun’s hand. “Let’s go explore.” 

“I can’t see anything,” Sehun complains. 

“Oh, right. Well, you can just swim with me. We should come back in the daytime.” 

“We need to be careful,” Sehun frets. “People might see you. Divers and such.” 

“I’ll be okay!” Jongin beams. “I like spending time with you at home.” 

“My place is your home as well,” Sehun murmurs. “You’re always welcome home.” 

“Sehunnie…” Jongin’s heart flips over in his chest and he throws his arms around Sehun’s neck. 

“What, you didn’t know?” Sehun clumsily reaches out to stroke Jongin’s floating hair. “I even tell you welcome home every month.” 

“It’s different when you say it like this.” Jongin is overwhelmed with emotions. “I love you,” he whispers in Sehun’s ear, popping his head back into the bubble. Sehun turns to kiss his cheek softly. “I love you so much.” 

“You’re my princeling,” Sehun tells him firmly. “My love.” Jongin beams happily, nuzzling into the crook of Sehun’s neck. “Weren’t we going exploring?” 

“Oh. Oh! Yes. Yes, yes, let’s go.” Jongin pulls Sehun behind him as he glides through the water effortlessly. “I have to find you more presents. Lots of pretty things for our house.” Sehun laughs affectionately. 

\----

After Sehun has showered and dried his hair, Jongin extends his hands out to Sehun, where he is cupping all the treasures they found on their midnight swim. 

“You can look at them now.” Jongin’s eyes sparkle excitedly as his boyfriend sits down next to him on the bed. 

“They’re all beautiful, princeling.” Sehun extracts the purple sea glass out from the small pile of pearls and seashells. “What was the message?” He looks at the merman curiously, who blushes and fidgets with the hem of his shirt. “Tell me,” he coaxes, smiling gently. “Come here.” Sehun pats his lap, and Jongin shyly sits down on his thigh. “What did you write for me?” 

“Mmm…” Jongin gazes at the piece of smooth glass in Sehun’s palm. “It’s kind of long. I was feeling sappy.” 

“That’s okay. You’re always sweet.” Sehun’s arm wraps around Jongin’s waist, securing him in his lap. “I want to know.” 

“Okay.” Jongin clears his throat. The words shimmer in midair as he tips his head against Sehun’s shoulder and reads them out loud. 

“Dear Sehunnie,   
I’m sorry you had a bad day today. I wish you would always be able to smile and have good days, even though that’s not possible. I have bad days, too. They’re… especially hard when I’m not with you, because you know how to cheer me up. I always miss you when I’m away. You make everything OK, even when it’s not. You never get mad at me, even if I did something wrong. And you always love me. When I’m with you, I’m so happy, Sehunnie. You make me so happy I feel like I could burst. Even Kyungsoo likes you because he sees how I am whenever I’m getting ready to resurface. I wish I could spend all the time I have with you, but we’re a little special, and life just hasn’t worked out for us like that. It’s OK with me, though, if it’s OK with you. I would rather cherish the time we can spend together every lunar cycle than have no time at all. 

Sehunnie, can I tell you a secret? Sometimes at night, when you sleep, you pull me closer to your chest like I’m your teddy bear. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel? How much I love you? I can’t even explain it. To be in your arms, receiving your kisses, spending time with you… how incredible I must have been in my past life, to have the privilege of spending this one in your arms. You look so beautiful when you sleep, my Sehun, even though you’re beautiful all the time. My second favorite is every morning, when you tuck me into bed and kiss me before you leave. The littlest things make me feel like I’m special to you. 

Sometimes, I worry that I’m bothersome and too different. That you have to take care of me too much, and I feel guilty. But I don’t know what I would do without you, if you were to get tired of me and leave. I’m sorry. I’m just me. I don’t know why you tolerate me and put up with me. Humans aren’t supposed to be as kind as you, Sehunnie. You teach me new ways to love you each and every day. I can only pray that whatever you see in me, you continue to do so. If you were to leave, I’m sure that my heart would shatter into a million pieces. Can humans die of a broken heart? Merpeople can. I’m sorry if this--” 

“Wait, what?” Sehun cuts Jongin off mid-sentence, squeezing his hand gently, eyes soft because of the love letter. “You can die of a broken heart?” Jongin nods. “You never told me this.” 

“It’s why I’m so emotional over rejections,” Jongin whispers. “And why I always need reassurance.” 

“I see.” Sehun is quiet for a moment. 

“I’m sorry if this puts pressure on you,” Jongin whispers the next part of the letter, continuing when Sehun nods for him to do so. “If you ever truly don’t love me anymore, then I will never force you to stay by my side. You would only be unhappy, and I don’t want that. Maybe the thing that would break my heart the most is not even you leaving me. It’s if you can no longer find a way to be happy. If… you’re happy with someone else, then I can live with that. I hope… that helps ease your mind--” 

“Jongin, baby, please look at me. My God, all these worries…” Sehun cups the merman’s cheek and locks eyes with him. “I will never love somebody the way I love you,” he promises. 

“Well, just in case then.” Jongin breathes in the familiar, comforting scent of Sehun, and can’t bear the thought of having it fade away. 

“You are my Plan A and my ‘just in case’. Trust me when I say there will never be anybody else.” Sehun plants the softest of kisses on the corner of Jongin’s lips. “I won’t break your heart, princeling.” Jongin trembles in his strong hold, overcome with relief. “You wanna finish this adorable letter of yours?” Sehun murmurs, nibbling at the shell of Jongin’s ear. 

“Okay,” Jongin whispers. 

“I hope, when we get back home, that you sleep well. I hope we’ll cuddle and you’ll give me more kisses. And I hope that I could help you feel better. Tomorrow is a new day, one that I get to spend with you. I’m already excited to see your smile when you wake up. 

Sweet dreams, Sehunnie. I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My goal was to make this so disgustingly affectionate that you all threw up a little because of the cuteness. I really do hope I succeeded.   
> This little fic is gaining so much more attention than I first thought it would. Thank you so much! Every time I see a new hit/comment/kudos, it just makes me want to write even more. ^_^   
> As long as I have ideas or you all leave ideas, I'll keep adding chapters, time permitting. This fic is so healing for me to write, and so I really enjoy updating. They're the cutest little couple.   
> Comments are always loved. Thank you for the support. Please enjoy <3


	8. fall for you

Sehun wakes up to a clap of thunder outside, streaking through the curtains and briefly lighting up his bedroom with a flash of white. In his arms, Jongin shifts, sensing the change in Sehun’s breathing. 

“Hi,” he whispers. His boyfriend hums quietly, barely audible above the pouring rain hitting the roof and windows. Jongin strokes softly along Sehun’s bare bicep. “It’s storming.” Sehun reaches up to card his fingers through Jongin’s hair, then leans closer to press a kiss to his forehead. “You don’t want to go back to sleep?” Jongin murmurs, snuggling closer to him. 

“Mmmm.” Sehun traces his lips down the side of Jongin’s temple with half-closed eyes. “My darling,” he whispers against Jongin’s cheek. The merman shudders and melts, letting Sehun leave a trail of love down his cheekbone, his jawline, and down the sensitive junction of his neck. “What time is it?” 

“I don’t know.” Jongin’s fingers dance along Sehun’s dainty waist, warm and smooth. “What…” Jongin’s question melts on his tongue when his boyfriend shifts to nip lightly at his collarbone.

“You’re so gorgeous, princeling.” Sehun’s hair tickles Jongin’s tan chest when he moves further and further down, causing Jongin to squirm. “Love you so much, you know that?” 

“I know,” Jongin whispers, hand gripping tightly onto Sehun’s shoulders to try and get him to slow down as hot, molten need pools in the pit of his stomach. “Sehunnie, I--” 

“Shhh.” His boyfriend’s chuckle is low and raspy, which does nothing to calm Jongin down. “You’re always so sensitive.” The merman’s chest heaves up and down, and his abs tense beautifully under Sehun’s hands when he rubs them slowly before tracing his fingers down Jongin’s v-line, creeping under the waistband of his boxers. A flash of lightning briefly reveals their entwined figures, laying together amidst tangled sheets. Sehun kisses back up Jongin’s body teasingly to whisper in his ear. “Be good for me, won’t you?” Jongin’s breath catches in his throat, and he wraps his arms around Sehun’s strong back. 

“I’ll be good,” he promises, a blush forming across his cheeks as he turns his head to the side to try and capture Sehun’s lips against his. “Please kiss me?” Sehun never says no. 

\----

The storm has stopped by the time Sehun opens his eyes again to cool morning sunlight that makes drops of rainwater on the plants outside sparkle like diamonds. Beside him is Jongin, mouth slightly agape, breathing soft and even in slumber. Sehun simply watches him for a while, reaching out to rub his thumb lightly against warm, golden skin. His dark hair seems to glow honey brown in the sunlight, and his neck and collarbones sport the smallest of little red love bites. Beautiful. Sehun exhales slowly, without realizing that he had been holding in his breath in the first place. Outside, a little bird chirps its morning call. Sehun quietly gets out of bed, tucks the covers in more securely around his love, and presses a soft kiss to his forehead before getting ready for work. 

\----

Early in the afternoon, only a little after midday, Jongin wakes up remarkably warm and cozy, a trace of Sehun’s morning kiss lingering on his skin, his musk clinging to the sheets. The merman stretches lazily, only to become alert at the sound at his boyfriend’s amused laugh, coming faintly from his study. Is he home already? Jongin futilely runs his hand through his spiky hair, pausing outside the door to Sehun’s closed study. He sounds like he’s talking to someone. The merman hesitates, then remembers his manners and knocks quietly before opening the door a crack. Sehun sits at the small desk, leaning back in his chair, chattering away to a friend on the phone. At the sight of Jongin, his eyes crinkle up into adorable half-moon crescents and he holds a welcoming arm out. 

“It sounds great. I would go, but… you know,” his boyfriend murmurs into the receiver. Jongin looks at him questioningly when he sits shyly in Sehun’s lap. Sehun taps his own cheek expectantly; Jongin blushes and presses a soft kiss there. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Obviously you’ve never seen yourself around Baek.” His hand pats the absolute mess of Jongin’s hair affectionately. His warmth, combined with the sunlight on Jongin’s back makes the merman drowsy again as he leans his cheek against his boyfriend’s shoulder and closes his eyes. Sunshine always feels so nice, especially since he doesn’t get to see much of it. With Sehun though, it seems as if everyday is infused with a little bit of bliss and daylight. 

“What are you planning?” Jongin whispers. Sehun chuckles. 

“I’m hanging up on you, Yeol, my darling is getting curious.” There’s a muffled answer from the other side of the line, accompanied by the chords of an electric guitar. “Yeah, I will. Thanks. Yep, see you later.” Sehun hangs up and patiently lets Jongin straddle his lap to sunbathe comfortably. “Did you sleep well, princeling?” Jongin nods, soft hair tickling Sehun’s neck. 

“Is it a date?” he asks. 

“You wanna go on a date with me?” Sehun’s voice is teasing. 

“Yes.” 

“You sure?” 

“Yes!” 

“Not sure if I believe you.” Jongin pouts and lifts his head up from Sehun’s neck to give him his best puppy eyes. “Should I take you?” Sehun pretends to consider, eyes sparkling with mirth. He’s clearly in a good mood today. Jongin pushes him lightly. 

“Sehunnie!” 

“We’ve been on like, six dates already this week. What if I’m tired today…” 

“You said you had something planned,” Jongin accuses, sandwiching his boyfriend’s cheeks between his palms. Sehun purses his lips at Jongin and receives a kiss. “Tell me.” 

“Hmmm--” 

“Tellmetellmetellmetellmeeeee.” 

“You wanna go on a picnic, princeling?” Sehun looks endlessly smug at the look of delight that spreads across Jongin’s face. 

“Yes.” Jongin nods hard, dark hair flopping into his eyes. 

“I’m thinking about making muffins. Do you want to help?” 

“What kind?” 

“I’m thinking white chocolate and raspberries. Yeah?” Sehun chuckles as he gets buried under Jongin’s happy coos and kisses. 

\----

“Princeling, you can’t eat all the raspberries before we use them.” Sehun laughs, watching Jongin’s hand stop halfway between the punnet of fruit and his mouth. 

“We don’t need this many,” Jongin whines, holding the berries out to his boyfriend. Sehun takes them obediently, feeling the warm fingertips of Jongin’s hand brush against his lips and watching him blush. 

“Here. Take this and mix it for me.” Sehun passes him the bowl of dry ingredients. 

“You have flour on your cheek,” Jongin giggles, dusting it away lightly. Sehun wraps one arm around Jongin’s waist and awkwardly unwraps butter with the other. But of course, cooking with Jongin isn’t about efficiency, it’s about apron-clad hugs and kissing melted white chocolate stains off the tip of his nose. Jongin’s brows furrow together in concentration as Sehun teaches him how to crack an egg, and he gets rewarded with a proud ruffle of his hair. He watches, arms wrapped around his boyfriend’s waist, chin resting on his shoulder, as Sehun combines both bowls of ingredients slowly and mixes them together, clicking his tongue in satisfaction when the batter is just right. 

“Hand me the white chocolate chips, please.” Jongin nuzzles Sehun’s neck before he lets go. “You’re so clingy today,” Sehun laughs when the merman pushes himself in between the counter and him. “What’s the occasion, hmm?” The muffin batter gets pushed to the side so Jongin can sit on the countertop, then he pulls the bowl into his lap and looks at Sehun eagerly. 

“You can mix this way.” 

“Alright.” Sehun places one of his hands over Jongin’s, resting against the side of the bowl, before carefully dumping in the white chocolate and folding it into the mixture. “Did you eat all the raspberries before we could use them?” 

“No,” Jongin blinks innocently as Sehun reaches for the half-empty punnet. “Besides, I like white chocolate chips better than raspberries. It’s fine if there are less.” 

“But what if I like raspberries better than white chocolate?” Sehun teases. 

“Then we can go on another grocery store trip!” Jongin beams. Sehun leans forward over the bowl of batter to kiss him. Jongin’s head bumps against the overhead cabinets. “Ow, ow, ow.” 

“That’s what you get for sitting on the counter, you silly princeling.” Sehun ruffles his hair fondly. “Wanna help me put these into cups?” Jongin carefully slides off the counter to line the muffin tins. They work side by side comfortably, sometimes chatting, sometimes simply enjoying each other’s presence. Sehun slides the muffins into the oven while Jongin collects dirty dishes to toss in the sink. 

“If I wear gloves, I can help,” Jongin offers as Sehun rolls up his sleeves. In answer, Sehun pinches Jongin’s cheek and gives him an affectionate smile. 

“Your version of helping consists of a lot of cuddles today, darling.” 

“You’re so warm, I can’t help it.” Jongin practically drapes himself over Sehun’s back and purrs happily. “You feel like a soft, comfortable rock…” Sehun bursts into laughter.

“Thanks, love. I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It’s even better than sunbathing,” Jongin insists. “You’re purple today, did you know? You look like the sea glass you like.” 

“What does purple mean?” Sehun inquires, scrubbing muffin batter off of the metal bowl. 

“You’re only purple when you’re really, really happy. You’re usually pale blue, which is more content. But I like seeing your aura turn purple. It means you’re not at all troubled.” Jongin kisses the shell of Sehun’s ear lightly. “Why are you purple today?” 

“I just am, I suppose.” Sehun smiles at the soapy water. 

“You deserve purple everyday.” 

“But that would take the specialty of it away,” Sehun points out. “Everyone has good and bad days.” 

“I guess.” Jongin sighs and drops little kisses on the nape of Sehun’s neck. “I wonder what your aura is like when I’m not around,” he murmurs. “Wish I could know.” 

“Is that a thing? Like a soulmate bond?” Sehun asks curiously. 

“No, no. No such thing.” Jongin shrugs. “Just curious.” 

“I’m always sad when you’re not here, love. Just gray all the time,” Sehun teases. Jongin’s arms wrap tighter around his waist. 

“Don’t be sad, Sehunnie.” 

“How can I not be, when my beautiful princeling isn’t around to kiss me while I do the dishes?” Sehun murmurs. Jongin preens. 

“Just so you know, I’m golden right now.” 

“Your aura?” 

“Yeah. My happiest.” Jongin giggles as Sehun makes an affronted sound in his throat. 

“Not fair. I wanna be gold.” 

“You can’t choose. I’m just pretty like that.” Jongin shrieks as Sehun turns around and flicks dishwater towards him. “You can’t! I’m gonna transform!” 

“Not with this little water. You can’t fool me.” Sehun pats his cheek with a wet hand affectionately. “Go check on the muffins, see if they’ve started to rise.” 

“I can feel my scales,” Jongin warns, pouting at him as he wanders towards the oven. 

“Don’t lie to me, princeling.” Sehun kisses his nose. “We went on a walk in the rain and you were fine.” 

“We’re not doing that again,” Jongin complains. 

“It would be pretty awkward to explain to the neighbors why I have a merman in my arms,” Sehun agrees. “I’ll check the forecast next time.” 

\----

“Sehunnie, aren’t we…?” Jongin stops at the edge of the path where the steep cliff trail is half-hidden in the scraggly bush. “Not the beach today?” he inquires when Sehun shakes his head and holds his hand out. 

“Taking you somewhere else.” 

“Where?” 

“You’ll see.” It’s a perfect afternoon, one with lots of sunshine and a salty ocean breeze that’s just right. Sehun holds a picnic basket in one hand and intertwines Jongin’s fingers with his own in the other. “It’s special.” 

“Have I been before?” Jongin asks, but Sehun shakes his head. 

“Well. You know, you just don’t.” He smiles mysteriously. The trail steepens, then winds back and forth in long, meandering loops that take the breath out of Jongin’s lungs ever so slightly. 

“This is a hiking date,” Jongin complains. 

“Nothing like a good hike before a well-deserved picnic. We’re almost there.” Sehun squeezes his hand. 

“Sehun, I don’t know where we are at all.” 

“You will. Just up ahead.” Sehun points to the end of the trail, which flattens and widens into an area of tall sea grass and little spots of bereft sand. All of Jongin’s grumpiness dissipates as he takes in the stunning view of the ocean in front of him. Miles and miles of shoreline stretch out to either side of them, far below a line of black rocks. They’re on top of the cliff. Sehun turns Jongin to his left and motions at the tiny line of wooden planks--the small fishing dock they usually rendezvous at--as well as the rectangular buildings of their town, too far away to bear any details. “Isn’t it pretty?” Sehun’s hair is blown back from his forehead, and his open jacket flutters behind him. “I’ve always wanted to take you here.” Jongin just squeezes Sehun’s hand tightly and turns his attention to the vast, glittering sea. It’s a view that most merpeople will never get to see, Jongin realizes, and one that truly makes him feel unbelievably lucky to have the best of both worlds. 

“Beautiful,” he breathes. He turns to look at Sehun, faintly puzzled when he catches sight of his expression. “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing.” Sehun’s eyes crinkle up. “You look so happy.” Jongin responds with a kiss, then at Sehun’s insistence, wanders off to explore the cliff while he lays a blanket down and pulls out their dinner. 

“Princeling,” Sehun calls, walking towards Jongin, who has strayed away from the jagged, steep edge and is meandering along the line of taller, swaying grass. “Come on. Let’s go eat.” 

“These are for you.” Jongin holds out a bouquet of beach wildflowers, jessamine and sea oats and bush sunflowers clasped in his hand. Sehun takes them, feeling fondness sweep over him like a wave. 

“Thank you, darling.” Sehun wraps an arm around Jongin’s shoulder to gently lead him back to their picnic spot. “They’re so pretty.” They’re placed carefully in the basket so as to not get blown away, then Jongin leans against Sehun’s shoulder as they feed each other spoonfuls of pasta salad and pieces of freshly baked muffins. Sehun feels so utterly, completely content that he would trade this for anything else. He can’t read auras, but Jongin looks so beautiful and radiant, a beaming smile stretched across his face, looking at his boyfriend adoringly as if Sehun holds the stars in the night sky in the palm of his hand. He really does radiate honey-gold happiness. The remnants of their meal get packed up slowly, but they leave the blanket out to return to after they wander up and down the cliffline, collecting more flowers and memories with each other. Jongin dozes off, head resting in his boyfriend’s lap as Sehun fiddles with small buttercups and weaves them into his hair to create a flower crown. He wakes up right before the sunset, a striking, captivating sight as the sun lights the deep blue waves on fire when it touches the horizon. When the oranges and reds fade into dark purple, he looks at Sehun, who is already watching him with an indecipherable expression on his face. 

“Sehunnie?” Jongin asks. Sehun cups his cheek gently, then stands up and holds his hand out for Jongin to follow. “Where are we going?” 

“Please don’t ask me questions until I’m finished.” 

“Sehun?” Jongin looks at his boyfriend bewilderedly as Sehun clasps both his hands. “Wha--” 

“Nini, the first time I met you, I was so fucking scared, you have no idea. But even though I was terrified, I also thought you were adorable.” Sehun watches the small yellow flowers tied in Jongin’s hair flutter in the cool evening wind to calm his own thundering heartbeat. “I wanted to see you again. And again. And again. When I left for that final year of university, I swear I had never missed home so much.” Jongin’s eyes are beginning to fill with tears. “When you came looking for me that day, I was so happy, princeling. And I’ve been so unspeakably happy with you every day after that, too.” Sehun struggles to keep the shaking out of his voice. 

“You are the light of my life. When I woke up this morning, I realized I couldn’t stand the thought of waking up and not knowing that you were by my side. I know we can’t always be physically together, even though I wish I could spend every second with you. But I’m going to be very selfish and tell Kyungsoo to kiss my ass, because I intend on keeping you all to myself.” Jongin gasps through the tears streaming down his cheeks in earnest as Sehun kneels down on one knee and fumbles in his pocket. 

“No, no, no…” Jongin cups his free hand over his mouth and sobs when he sees the simple platinum ring. 

“My Jongin, my darling, my beautiful princeling. Please marry me.” Sehun looks up at him beseechingly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~So does Jongin say yes, or am I planning to add mild angst to the tags? ;)~~   
> A cliffhanger because they're on a cliff. Get it?   
> I'll try and update as much as I can! Thank you for all the sweet comments and support, they really do mean so much to me. <3 Please enjoy ^_^


	9. find you again

~~

_Kim Jongin, heir to the throne of EXO’rdia, only son of King Kim Junmyeon, was never destined to fit the conventional mold of a merprince. Yes; he loves his coven, will defend his people with his life if need be. He is skilled with a trident, possesses keen navigational skills, has the tenacity and capability to step up to his responsibilities of being the golden prince. Moreover, he is desirable. He is the face of the coven, a sign of their good standing and regal power. Sleepy, alluring eyes, a sculpted, tan chest, golden fins that shimmer in the water mesmerizingly when he swims. It’s hardly an exaggeration to say that he has a crowd of admirers and hopeful courters. But Kim Jongin, bearing the greatest duty to protect and lead his coven, also belongs to another home. One that is forbidden for most merpeople to ever seek, a dangerous place that could lead to the extinction of their species, should Jongin ever stumble into the wrong group of people. His advisor Kyungsoo openly opposes it. Here in EXO’rdia, Jongin has his pick of courters--wealthy, powerful, beautiful. Why not give in to Prince Taemin’s relentless pursuit of his heart, or accept the hand of someone from his own coven? Why suffer through the weeks of pining, go through the hassle of transforming every new moon, and live with a foot on either side of their heritage when it would be much simpler, much more pragmatic to pick the lineage of evolution which Jongin cannot escape?_

__

_Because Jongin is endlessly enamored with Sehun, this human who treats him like royalty even though he has never once seen Jongin in his element, trident in hand, speaking to thousands of his people who would bow low at a simple raise of his hand. Sehun who dotes on him, calls him princeling, and waits for him every new moon, no matter how confusing and difficult their relationship is. While the waves might pull him back to his coven every full moon cycle, his heartstrings tug him back to Sehun, strong and steady, an anchor on the shore. And since there are no regulations dictating that Jongin must accept another’s hand to take the throne, he politely but firmly declines all invitations to his dates. Kyungsoo cannot tell him otherwise. He had leverage after the first meeting with Sehun, but after the second, then the third (a secret one that Jongin is sure Kyungsoo has yet to find out about), it was all over for him. The young prince is a hopeless romantic, a bit of a reckless dreamer, and unconditionally stubborn when it comes to the things he wants. And he wants Oh Sehun._

__

_Junmyeon, on the other hand, resisted gently, unlike Kyungsoo’s outright arguments with obstinate Jongin. He patiently listened to Jongin’s shy declarations of love, and told his son that while it was OK to rule without a companion, the potential complications of courting with a human were far too dangerous and out of their control. Better to cut them off early, he and Kyungsoo agreed, then let it go for more lunar cycles and hurt him later._

__

__

_“I’m going next week,” Jongin insists._

__

__

_“Jongin, I’m afraid I cannot let you keep seeing him.” Junmyeon’s heart breaks for the crestfallen look on Jongin’s face, but he remains firm._

__

__

_“But why?”_

__

__

_“You have duties,” Kyungsoo steps in. “Responsibilities to your coven. Every time you see him, you put the rest of us in danger. His kind are merciless and manipulative. Your absence every new moon also does not reflect well on the kingdom.”_

__

__

_“I have never belittled my duty to my people. I have never loved my home any less because of him!” Jongin’s eyes shimmer fiercely._

__

__

_“He didn’t say that, Jongin.” Junmyeon lays a hand on his son’s shoulder. “We know you are a good prince to your coven.”_

__

__

_“I can do that and still see him.”_

__

__

_“No, you can’t. You aren’t listening,” Kyungsoo says slowly. “You dismiss centuries of secrecy every time you make that damn swim to the shore. Who’s to say that he won’t tell anyone?”_

__

__

_“And YOU dismiss his feelings towards me! Sehun doesn’t wait up for me and say fuck it to his whole future anywhere else out of that small ass town just to gather intel about me to send to some stupid fucking scientist--”_

__

__

_“What is ‘fuck’?” Kyungsoo makes an arc of bubbles as he waves his hand through the water impatiently. “Jongin, listen to yourself. This isn’t right. You aren’t destined for life on land.”_

__

__

_“Try me, Kyungsoo.” Jongin glares at him. “I don’t see you yelling at Yixing for going to see his boyfriend.”_

__

__

_“Yixing is not the crown prince. Trust me when I say he understands the consequences of his actions, and we have also discussed these matters with him to great lengths. We are protective of you because we need you, Jongin.” Junmyeon circles around his son slowly. “I’m sorry. You are free to love who you want, but because of this,” the king indicates Jongin’s long, beautiful fins, “you must prioritize your people above your own wishes. You will not go and see him anymore.” Jongin’s eyes flutter shut as he tries to calm his aura. Tears prick at the corners of his eyes, and his throat convulses desperately at the thought of never seeing his love again. He imagines Sehun, waiting day after day on the dock for him, confused and heartbroken when Jongin can’t return. He had promised so many things, they had planned so much. More dates, more bonfire nights, more grocery store trips. Sehun wanted to teach Jongin how to play board games and take him to watch the new movie. Jongin couldn’t stop thinking about Sehun’s lips on his, and the smell of lavender._

__

__

_“Jongin.” Kyungsoo taps his wrist. The prince looks down, and yanks his hand protectively to his chest, fingers wrapping tightly around Sehun’s precious pearl bracelet._

__

__

_“No. No, you can’t take that,” Jongin snarls at his advisor._

__

__

_“You can’t be with him. It’s a pearl, Jongin, and look what he did to it.”_

__

__

_“It’s a present. A human gift.”_

__

__

_“You are a merman, Jongin, not a human. You can’t accept things from him.” Kyungsoo holds his hand out. “Come on. I know you’re reasonable.”_

__

__

_“I am reasonable. You’re not.” Jongin swims further away, still protecting his bracelet._

__

__

_“Jongin,” Junmyeon scolds. “Respect, please.”_

__

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_“Jongin, give it to me.” Kyungsoo floats closer. Jongin turns his back on him. “There are so many other beautiful presents for you.”_

__

__

_“I don’t want them. Throw them away.” Jongin clasps his wrist to his heart._

__

__

_“You don’t need to accept them if you don’t want to. But you cannot go and see him.” Kyungsoo’s tone is final. “I will consider it treason if you do.” At this, Jongin turns around and stares at his father pleadingly. Devastation billows around the prince, dark blue clouds staining the water as he is torn between his coven and Sehun. Junmyeon nods, agreeing with Kyungsoo’s words. Jongin’s face crumples._

__

__

_“I’m sorry, Jongin.” Kyungsoo’s voice is soft as he approaches the merman._

__

__

_“I’m sorry, too,” Jongin whispers. A silvery tear slips onto his cheek._

__

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_“You’re doing the right thing.”_

__

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_“I know.” Jongin’s hand drifts to his bracelet, fumbling with the black cord. Then his fingers cut an arc through the water. A cloud of mist and bubbles surround him in an instant, cutting Kyungsoo off. Out of his cocoon, his voice echoes firmly._

__

__

_“I reserve the right to a fair trial. See to it that attorney Zhang Yixing defends my case.”_

__

__

_“Jongin, it doesn’t matter. You can’t leave.” Kyungsoo’s own hands are starting to foam, readying for a fight. “The moon is still almost full. It hasn’t waned enough for you to resist the pull.”_

__

__

_“Try me, Kyungsoo.” Jongin flicks his wrist, and his cocoon of bubbles explodes. Junmyeon cuts through it with a wave of his hand, but by the time he does, Jongin is gone._

__

__

\----

_Kyungsoo is right, for the most part. As soon as Jongin transforms, he is hit by the blistering feeling of dehydration fever. He curls in on himself on the sand, gasping for breath and gritting his teeth. Sehun. He needs to get to Sehun. There’s no way in hell he’s going back in the ocean, however strong the temptation is. His boyfriend leaves all sorts of things by the dock, seeing as he and his friends are the only people who ever visit this stretch of beach. One of those things is a bag for Jongin. A towel and some clothing, should any circumstance ever arise. Communication is impossible between the two of them when Jongin is at sea, and Sehun is nothing if not prepared._

__

__

_One step at a time, Jongin scales the cliff. He’s done it enough with Sehun that his muscle memory remembers, even as he fights the urge to stumble back towards the sound of crashing waves. From there, Jongin desperately tries to organize his mind so he can  
think coherently. Sehun’s probably off work by now, but there are no bets as to whether he’s at home or not. It doesn’t matter. Jongin can’t do anything but hope that he is. Whether fate or luck is on his side, Sehun practically flies out of his room when he hears Jongin’s faint call on the other side of the door, heart thudding in his chest as he tries to calculate and figure out if he’s memorized the lunar cycle wrong. The merman is crumpled on his doorstep, shivering uncontrollably, flaming hot to the touch when Sehun kneels down to scoop him up in his arms. _

__

__

_“Jongin, baby, oh God…” Sehun slams the plug down in the bathtub and sets Jongin in it, then runs the water as cold as it can get. While it slowly fills up, he scoops a bowl of ice from the fridge, then grabs salt. Both get dumped into his bathtub as Jongin sinks into the water, golden fins spilling out from the side of the porcelain. It doesn’t matter. As long as most of his merman form is in the simulated environment, it helps. “Princeling, talk to me, won’t you?” Sehun fishes for Jongin’s hand in the freezing cold water and presses his lips against his fingers. “Are you okay?” Under the blocks of ice, Jongin breathes slowly, trying to convince himself that he really is in the ocean. It’s water. He’ll live. He’s where he should be, and Sehun is by his side. This, more than anything, gives him the strength to resurface and start using his lungs instead of gills. Sehun’s expression floods with relief when his boyfriend breaks the surface of the water, lips no longer deathly pale. “You’re here so early,” he whispers. “I was so scared.”_

__

__

_“Kyungsoo said…” Jongin’s voice is raspy with emotion and dryness. “I couldn’t see you anymore.”_

__

__

_“So you came and saw me.” Sehun sighs, but Jongin watches purple and electric blue anxiety ebb off of him in waves. “Of course.”_

__

__

_“I don’t think I can transform back.” Jongin sinks deep into the water. “Not for the next few days. Even this… is uncomfortable. Not the same.”_

__

__

_“I can keep you in here as long as you need,” Sehun promises, reaching out to shut the tap off when the water reaches the very brim of the bathtub. “Don’t worry about that. Is everything okay back home?” Jongin’s heart twists, and his face crumples._

__

__

_“I don’t know.” And Sehun leans forward to brush Jongin’s wet hair away from his face comfortingly as the merman dissolves into sobs._

~~ 

Jongin blearily opens his eyes to find that Sehun is already awake, lying next to him, watching him through half lidded eyes. The covers only go up to mid-torso, so Jongin gets the beautiful sight of sunlight hitting pale, milky skin, creating divots of shadows that pool in his collarbone and the curve of his biceps. His left hand is curled against the pillow between their heads. On his ring finger is a simple platinum band. Jongin’s throat convulses with emotion at the beautiful image of his fiance. 

“Good morning, my princeling.” Sehun’s voice is thick with sleep and love. His next words are quiet and intimate. “My Oh Jongin.” 

“We should keep mine,” Jongin says softly, snuggling into Sehun’s warm chest with an immeasurably happy smile. “I’m royalty.” 

“Kim Sehun does have a nice ring to it, I’ll admit. I’ll think about it.” Sehun presses a kiss into his hair. “I must have really tired you out yesterday, for you to sleep through the night.” 

“I like waking up with you.” 

“Me, too, darling.” Sehun holds Jongin impossibly close. It still feels surreal, knowing that Jongin is absolutely, irrevocably his for the rest of their lives. That they can be married. Sehun breathes in the scent of salt and honeysuckle slowly. “What do you want to do today?” Sehun murmurs. “I have the rest of the week off. I want to spend every second of it with you.” At this, Jongin pulls away slightly and brings his left hand up between them to admire his matching platinum ring. It’s so beautiful, simple as it might be. A faint engraving of a seashell lies on the inside of the ring against his skin, so delicate that even Jongin’s sensitive skin can’t detect the lines. “Do you like it?” Sehun asks. “It suits you well.” His gaze is soft, so soft. 

“I love it.” Jongin blushes when Sehun takes his hand and presses his lips to the cold metal. “I love you.” This is so intimate, so warm and comforting. Jongin can’t imagine another present, let alone another future. Sehun is his soulmate, his better half, his everything. 

“I love you,” he whispers back. Jongin melts. This is exactly where he belongs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two things that I need help deciding:  
> 1\. Oh Jongin or Kim Sehun?  
> 2\. Y'all want smut? Like full on smut? Because I've been minimizing the smut or cutting them off before they get hardcore, but I have many ideas ;) But I don't know if you guys would want that, or if you just prefer to fluff and cuteness overload :3 Anyway, drop a comment about the chapter, about the questions, about the fic in general! Thank you so much for the support as always <3


	10. honeysuckle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW warning: Gratuitous smut

~~

_Throughout the next few days, the only thing that helps Jongin is being in the water, and having Sehun by his side. His boyfriend’s touch, his low reading voice, even just his presence, patiently laying towels down over the puddles of water that have overflowed from the sides of the tub. At nighttime, it gets worse. The moon rises just outside of Sehun’s window, and Jongin spends long, fitful hours trying to calm his rattling breath and soothe the constant ache in his chest that yearns to be back in the ocean._

_“You’re gonna kill yourself,” Sehun whispers more than once, hand dipping into the ice cold tub to feel Jongin’s temperature. His forehead is hot, despite the chilly water. He worries incessantly. “Princeling, just go back. It’s only a few days,” he pleads._

_“They won’t let me… come back if I… return this… cycle,” Jongin unleashes a flurry of currents in frustration that send water slopping over the side of the porcelain. “Sorry. Sehun, it hurts.” Jongin closes his eyes and hunches in on himself under the surface._

_“Don’t apologize.” Sehun kneels down next to the tub and rests his arms against the ledge, then drops his chin into the cradle. Jongin looks towards him. He looks exhausted from stress and the lack of sleep. “It’s a third quarter moon tomorrow,” Sehun says quietly. “I hope you’ll at least be able to resurface. You need to eat something for your strength.”_

_“Hope so… ” Jongin’s vision becomes fuzzy around the edges as the pull increases. “Oh, God. Just leave me alone,” Jongin groans, trying to suppress the call of the waves. “Stop…” Sehun says nothing, but his brows furrow in distress as Jongin clutches his chest. Watching him hurt, but being unable to help breaks Sehun’s heart cleanly in half. Especially when he knows he is the reason behind this madness._

_“I’m right here, princeling.” Sehun reaches down into the water, past the floating ice cubes and cups Jongin’s cheek gently. “M’here for you, always am.”_

_“Stop… it hurts… it hurts it hurts it hurts, oh my God.” Jongin gasps, feeling his breath cut like sandpaper in his throat._

_“My brave, strong princeling, I love you so much, darling.” Sehun has no idea if Jongin is even hearing his words, but he doesn’t stop talking. “Thank you so much for not giving up on me. On us.” He slowly cards his fingers through the floating brown strands of hair. “I’ll be here if you need me, okay? Right by your side.”_

_“Sehun, make it stop.”_

_“I’m sorry.” Sehun lets Jongin clutch at his numb hand like a lifeline, splaying it against his chest as if his touch soothes the incessant wildfire in his soul. “It’ll be better tomorrow, my love. You’ve already made it through the worst part.”_

_“Tell me…” Jongin opens his eyes a little so he can see Sehun’s face, beautiful even when anguished, wavering back and forth in front of his swimming vision. “About… next week.”_

_“About everything we’re going to do?”_

_“Yeah.”_

_“So curious,” Sehun murmurs, and a hint of a smile appears on the corners of his lips. Jongin clutches his wrist tighter. “Well,” he organizes his thoughts as he talks slowly. “We’re going to need to go to the store, so I can make you apple strudel. I think I promised that last time.” Jongin’s eyes slide shut again so he can concentrate on breathing evenly. “If you want, you can help me. I’ll teach you how to make it. Then we said… we’d go on a movie date, right?” Sehun rubs Jongin’s chest slowly. “You’ll like this one. It’s a horror movie. You’re going to get a lot of cuddles. I might not even sleep that night.” The human sighs exaggeratedly. “You and your horror movies.” A bubble shaped like a heart makes its way to the surface. Sehun takes that as a good sign. “Jongdae said we’d do bonfire night on Friday. He and Minseok finally started dating. They’re about 10 years late on that, but whatever.” Sehun chuckles. “As long as they’re together now, I suppose.”_

_“Music,” Jongin murmurs._

_“Of course. Lots of music. We can even go to the seafood bar one night if you want, and listen to Chanyeol’s band play. He said he should be in town for the next few days. And… I have a present for you.” Sehun smiles when Jongin’s hand squeezes his fingers. “I got you a cute teddy bear. Very cheesy. No, I’m not explaining what it is.” He laughs when Jongin squeezes his hand harder. “You can find out when you resurface, princeling.”_

~~

Sehun stands facing the ocean, feeling sand wash out between his toes as little waves lap up against the shoreline. He shields his eyes from the sun, squinting out at the ocean where two figures bob in the waves, unrecognizable because of the distance. Nonetheless, Sehun waits for either of them to notice him patiently, which takes quite a while. Jongdae sees him first first, because he gracefully catches the next wave and rides back to the beach as soon as he catches sight of Sehun. 

“Come to try?” He asks, lips curling up at the corners excitedly, proffering his surfboard to Sehun. Tendrils of salty, wet hair cling to his forehead; he sweeps them back just as long-legged Baekhyun jogs out of the waves. “I’ll teach you.” 

“No thanks. Will leave that up to you.” Sehun dodges the spray of waves that Baekhyun kicks at him in the form of a greeting. “I got a favor to ask.” 

“Whatcha need, Sehunnie?” 

“I gotta go out of town.” Sehun shoves his hands into his pockets, only for Baekhyun to yank his left wrist. “Oi,” he complains, then relents when Baekhyun examines the platinum ring on his finger. 

“Look at our baby, all engaged and grown up.” Baekhyun pats his head a few times; Sehun swats him away, swallowing a smile. 

“Look after Jongin for me?” He asks Jongdae. “Just for a couple days.” 

“What do you need to go out of town for?” Jongdae asks curiously. 

“Business,” Sehun says simply. 

“Sehun, you work in a fucking movie theater. You have no ‘business.’” Baekhyun is unimpressed. 

“...Wedding business?” Sehun tries. Jongdae’s eyes light up excitedly. 

“YOU’RE ALREADY PLANNING IT?! AWWWW, SEHUNNIE!” 

“Wait, why aren’t you taking Jongin with you, then?” Baekhyun interrupts. 

“I…” Sehun hesitates. The moon is slowly becoming rounder and he doesn’t want to risk anything by taking Jongin too far away from the ocean, but he can’t say that. “It’s a surprise for now. I just… I’ll take him sometime else.” 

“He’s a romantic,” Jongdae coos excitedly to Baekhyun. “He’s so sappy. Planning surprises for Nini.” 

“Please just look after him for me.” 

“Yes, Sehunnie. We won’t let anything happen to your pretty boy,” Baekhyun promises. “He can take care of himself, though. You’re so overprotective.” 

“I know that. I just meant make sure he’s not lonely.” 

“Oh, don’t worry. We’ll party without you,” Jongdae grins. “Although you know, you two didn’t spend all day locked up in your hut fucking like bunnies, he might be less lone--” 

“Anyway, thanks a lot!” Sehun whirls around as Baekhyun bursts into laughter. 

“You know it’s true!” Jongdae calls. Sehun sighs. 

\---- 

“Where’d you go?” Sehun’s pouty merman greets him at the door as soon as he walks in. 

“I’m sorry. I went to visit Jongdae.” Sehun enfolds Jongin in his arms and nuzzles him softly. “Good afternoon, princeling. Sleep well?” 

“Your aura is all weird,” Jongin mumbles, snuggling into Sehun’s chest. 

“Mmm…” Sehun braces himself for inevitable whining. “I need to… go out of town for a couple days.” 

“Why?” 

“Business.” 

“Take me with you.” Jongin’s arms tighten around his waist.

“Not a good idea and you know it, princeling.” 

“I’m feeling fine,” Jongin insists, turning his puppy eyes on and gazing at Sehun longingly. “Please, Sehunnie.” 

“You only have a few days left.” Sehun presses the back of his hand against Jongin’s cheek; the merman leans into his touch needily. “I don’t know what I would do if you got sick.” 

“I won’t get sick. Please,” Jongin turns his head to press a kiss against Sehun’s knuckles. “Please don’t leave me alone when we only have a week left.” 

“You’re so dramatic.” Sehun chuckles, brushing a hand through Jongin’s hair. “It’s only two days. I’ll be back by Monday night, promise.” 

“And I don’t leave until Thursday!” 

“You don’t know that. I can’t take you even further away from the ocean, not when the moon is so close to becoming first quarter.” 

“Sehunnie,” Jongin whines; he sounds downright heartbroken. “Sehunnie…” 

“Jongdae will keep you company.” 

“I want your company.” Jongin buries his face against Sehun’s neck. 

“You have my company for the rest of your life,” Sehun promises. “Be a good princeling for me,” he murmurs, patting Jongin’s back soothingly. “I’ll bring you so many presents, give you so many kisses when I come back. Mmkay?” 

“Not okay.” Jongin pouts, but Sehun knows his merman well enough to know that he’s just being petulant now. 

“Thank you, my love.” Sehun peels Jongin away from himself gently and tips his chin up. Jongin’s irises are a deep azure today, and they sparkle like sunlight filtering through ocean water. “Princeling, you’re so gorgeous,” Sehun breathes, pressing his thumb gently into the soft skin under Jongin’s eyes. “I love this color so much.” 

“Watch,” Jongin says softly, cheeks coloring pink at the compliments. Sehun obeys, lips curling into a doting smile when Jongin’s eyes shift from azure to sea green, a spectrum of cool colors slowly swirling in his irises. 

“How do you do that?” Sehun asks, clasping Jongin’s face between his hands. The colors are hypnotic.

“I’ve been practicing.” Jongin blinks once, and his eyes turn unerringly blue once more. “I was bored.” 

“You look so stunning.” Sehun kisses his forehead gently. “Do you want to get ice cream with me?” he asks. “My treat. To make up for leaving.” 

\----

The next day without Sehun is exceedingly boring. Jongin sleeps the day away and surreptitiously climbs down the cliff to dive into the ocean at night for lack of anything else to do. He makes his way back to his coven (much to Kyungsoo’s surprise and happiness), gets a head start on his responsibilities, and makes sure Yixing is in the vicinity to back him up before he drops the bomb. May as well get that over with.

“Father, Kyungsoo, I’m getting married.” Jongin extends his left hand to show off his ring. King Junmyeon’s jaw drops. Kyungsoo closes his eyes slowly. 

“What.” Jongin’s advisor’s voice is eerily quiet.

“Sehunnie proposed to me.” Jongin fights a mischievous smile while Yixing disappears into a flurry of self-generated bubbles in his excitement.

“What.” 

“It was so romantic! We made muffins together--” 

“What are muffins,” Junmyeon whispers to Kyungsoo. 

“--took me to the cliff and we had a picnic, and he braided wildflowers into my hair while I took a nap, and he said I was pretty a million times, and then we watched the sunset and he told me he couldn’t live without me--” Jongin squeals as Yixing practically flies over to him and buries him in a congratulatory hug. 

“You’re so lucky! He sounds so cute!” 

“He is,” Jongin coos. “He’s the best, the sweetest.” 

“He made you muffins?!” 

“They were white chocolate and raspberry, they were SO good,” Jongin gushes. 

“Oh, you’re so lucky. Yifan can’t fucking cook at ALL, we just eat out every night.” 

“Oh my God, now that you mention it, it’s been a while since I’ve had pizza. I’ll ask Sehun to get some when he comes back from his business trip.” 

“What is pizza?” Kyungsoo mouths to Junmyeon. 

“What if you served pizza at your wedding?” Yixing suggests. 

“Is that wedding food?” Jongin asks cluelessly. “I have no idea, I’m letting him handle it.” 

“Weddings are so cute! I went to one with Yifan once. There are so many flowers and people, and everyone is usually so happy. I--” 

“Prince Jongin,” Kyungsoo sounds peeved. “Yixing.” The two of them break off their excited conversation and look at the royal advisor. “Married? To a human? Really?” 

“You’ve never met him,” Jongin’s voice pitches up into a whine. “Stop fucking judging.” 

“For the love of Neptune, this human slang is driving me insane.” Kyungsoo huffs a stream of bubbles. “Jongin, I can’t help but disapprove.” 

“I know. I don’t care, I’m just telling you.” 

“Jongin, son, please show some respect.” Junmyeon sighs patiently.

“What about your coven?” Kyungsoo insists.

“I don’t see anyone else complaining about my disappearance every few weeks.” Yixing’s supportive hand slips into his.

“That’s because King Junmyeon is still here! Your presence is not urgently needed except in times of war! What about when the kingdom is passed onto you, Prince?” Kyungsoo frowns. “You cannot expect the people to take you seriously when you don’t take your own duties seriously.” At this, Jongin tenses up and becomes stiff. 

“I have _never_ shirked my duty to my people--” 

“As I have said a thousand times, you do every single time you leave to see that Sehun of yours.” Kyungsoo fixes him with a disapproving look. “You care far more about him than your true lineage. We have been so lenient with you, Prince--” 

“Yeah, you have,” Jongin challenges. “And you know why you’re lenient? Because you know I do a good fucking job. You’ve never put me on trial because you know I’m NOT committing treason. I haven’t done anything wrong, just ask Yixing. I love Sehun just as much as I love my coven, and he loves me. This kingdom is my responsibility, and I accept that. I will do anything for it.” 

“Jongin, don’t be so stubborn--” Junmyeon begins, but Jongin simply keeps talking. 

“You think I like the dichotomy? You think I like going from ocean to land and land to ocean every moon cycle? My own father can’t even meet my fiance.” Jongin’s eyes turn silver with tears; Yixing squeezes his hand comfortingly. “You’ll never know how well he treats me, how he would give the stars to me if I asked. I would never leave so willingly every third quarter if I didn’t love him this much. And if I truly stopped caring, then why should I return to the coven? Wouldn’t it be way easier to just float under the damn dock and not go anywhere? When the time comes that my coven needs me, the waves will call, no matter where I am. I will feel it in here,” Jongin presses his left hand against his chest, “because it is my duty to protect my people. An absent leader is not a careless one. I’ll make it _work,_ Kyungsoo, will you please have some DAMN faith in me for once?!” 

“Please don’t yell at your advisor like that,” Junmyeon murmurs after a stunned period of silence. “Kyungsoo only wants the best for you.” 

“I understand, I swear I do.” Jongin looks at Kyungsoo beseechingly. “I’m sorry.” 

“I don’t even know if I should accept that apology.” Kyungsoo’s lips are tight and thin. “You are quite the handful, young prince.” 

“Funny, that’s what Yifan says when he’s railing me,” Yixing whispers under his breath, and Jongin nearly chokes on water, which shouldn’t even be physically possible given his gills and lungs.

“When are you getting married?” Kyungsoo rubs a tired hand across his face. 

“I… don’t know. I don’t think we’re in a rush.” Jongin fidgets restlessly. 

“I--” Kyungsoo sighs. “Don’t think I’m not tired of arguing about this with you. It’s been years.” 

“I’ll argue for the rest of my life. I’ll do anything to keep him,” Jongin threatens. 

“I don’t have the energy for that.” Kyungsoo turns his back on Jongin. “You don’t have to say anything as long as you can act on your promises.” 

“Does this mean you’ll stop bitching about Sehun?” 

“No. Expect a dissertation on the complications for your relationship when you return at the end of the week.” Kyungsoo swims away. “You should go back now, though, if you insist on being contrary. The sun will rise soon. Don’t create suspicions.” Jongin lets out a sigh of relief. Yixing pats him on the back. 

“I’ll see you soon, I have a case I need to work on.” 

“Alright. Thank you for being here.” Jongin waves him off and turns to make the journey back to shore, but before he can do so, Junmyeon clasps his wrist and presses something into his hand. 

“Consider this my blessing for both of you.” Jongin glances at the delicate, vacant starfish shell that he’s holding. He looks up at his father, who is watching him with a tender gaze. “I have never doubted your abilities or heart,” Junmyeon tells him. “That doesn’t mean I don’t worry about you.” 

“He’s amazing.” Jongin feels a lump form in his throat. “I just know you would love him.” 

“I do love him, Jongin. He makes you happy.” Junmyeon caresses his son’s shoulder lightly. “Go now. Be with him as much as you can, and come back to tend to your coven. You’re a good prince.” 

\----

“Hi!” Jongdae chirps when Jongin shyly opens the door. “How ya doing?” 

“Sad,” Jongin murmurs honestly. “Come in.” 

“Ohhh no, honey,” Baekhyun promptly throws his arms around Jongin’s waist. “Don’t be sad! Is it because of Sehun?” Jongin nods. 

“I said I wanted to go, but he wouldn’t let me…” 

“Has he called you at all?” Jongdae inquires. Jongin pouts. 

“No.” 

“Oh my God, what an asshole.” Jongdae immediately jumps to Jongin’s defense.

“So inconsiderate,” Baekhyun adds on, following his best friend into the cottage. “Definitely not very romantic of him. Don’t tell him we said that, by the way.” 

“He said he had a surprise when he left,” Jongin mumbles, even though he giggles at Jongdae’s fervent defense of his depressed mood.

“Okay, well, we’ll give him a surprise too. When’s he coming back?”

“A… few hours?” Jongin hazards. The sun is setting outside. Sehun promised Monday night. 

“He won’t expect this,” Baekhyun grins excitedly. Jongin looks at both of them, rather lost. Baekhyun claps his hands happily. “Makeover time!” 

“A--what?” Jongin blinks. 

“We brought makeup!” Jongdae points at Baekhyun’s bag. “You can give him a surprise when he comes home.” 

“I’ve never…” Jongin fidgets with the hem of his ~~Sehun’s~~ comfy, oversized shirt restlessly. “Tried makeup.” 

“Do you want to?” Jongdae looks at him kindly. “We’ll do it for you!” 

“O-okay.” Jongin sits down cautiously on the edge of the bed as Jongdae and Baekhyun flit around him. 

“Your complexion is so good, what the fuck.” Baekhyun pouts. “It’s not even fair.” Jongin blinks and flinches away as Jongdae comes at his eyes with a brush. 

“It’s just eyeshadow. Close your eyes and stay still, it won’t hurt.” Jongin obeys nervously. “He’d look so pretty with eyeliner,” Jongdae murmurs to Baekhyun. 

“Oh my gosh, yes. Are you okay with that, Nini?” 

“...Sure?” Jongin hazards. What the fuck is eyeliner?

“Awesome. Woah, Sehun has a dope shell collection.” Jongin’s eyes fly open as Jongdae pulls away to examine the tall glass jars sitting on Sehun’s nightstand, filled with his gifts. “I didn’t even know he collected pearls. Where does he get these?” 

“They’re mine,” Jongin says softly. Jongdae and Baekhyun both turn to look at him. “I collect.” A little white lie to preserve their secrets and limit awkward explanations. 

“Oh, see, that would explain it. He’s not classy enough,” Baekhyun jokes; Jongdae cracks up. Jongin’s lips curve upwards in a smile, and as he shuts his eyes again to let Jongdae sweep eyeliner onto him, his heart warms with the knowledge of how easily he fits into life on land now, too. He even has friends; friends who happily give him makeovers and insist that he wear a cute crop top that shows off his tan stomach and dainty waist. 

“Sehun won’t be able to keep his hands off of you,” Jongdae coos, pushing Jongin into the bathroom to look at himself. The merman gasps. His eyelids glitter subtly, making his honey brown eyes more sensual and heavy-lidded. His cheekbones and jawline are sharp and defined in the light. He seems to glow. And the outfit--Jongin fumbles with the sleeves of his crop top, licks his glossy lips and tastes peaches and cream. “See? You look absolutely gorgeous for him.” 

“Show him what he missed,” Baekhyun encourages, looking extremely proud at his and Jongdae’s handiwork. “He has some audacity, making his fiance mope around so much.” 

“Sehun got lucky in this life,” Jongdae smirks. _No,_ Jongin thinks. _I did._ “You look so sexy, Nini.” 

“Thank you.” Jongin’s cheeks heat up with a blush. 

“He’ll probably be home soon, won’t he? We should leave now. Cheer up, Nini. Men are useless, eyeliner will never leave your side.” Baekhyun squeezes Jongin’s hand. “Have fun!” he singsongs. 

“Thank you for the makeover,” Jongin says shyly. 

“Oh, anytime! It’s so hard to get Minseok to let me experiment on him, and don’t even get started on Chanyeol. You let me know whenever you want to feel prettier than you already are!” Jongdae waves happily as he and Baekhyun set off down the sidewalk back into town. “See you soon, Nini!” 

“Bye bye.” Jongin closes the door, then wanders back to the bathroom to stare at himself some more, entranced by the subtle enhancement of his features. Jongdae really did do a good job. He blinks through iris colors, watching his cheekbones shimmer under the bathroom light, until he settles on azure just as he hears the front door open. 

“Princeling, I’m finally home,” comes Sehun’s soft call, and Jongin’s heart leaps into his throat. “I can’t believe you’re not throwing yourself at me,” Sehun murmurs, possibly under his breath, but Jongin hears everything he says. “Where are you?” At this, Jongin finally moves. He emerges out from the bathroom, shyly watching Sehun drop a handful of shopping bags on the floor near the front door, straightening up when he hears Jongin’s footsteps. “There you are--” Sehun’s eyes widen at the sight of Jongin, minimal makeup applied, crop top hanging off of one shoulder, exposing his collarbone and lower abdomen. All the breath whooshes out of his lungs in one go. “Oh my God,” he whispers. Jongin watches his reaction carefully, pleased when Sehun’s aura turns deep, pulsing red. _Lust._ Jongin squirms. 

“Do you like it?” Jongin whispers even though he’s pretty sure he knows the answer. 

“Lord help me.” Sehun feels dizzy. Jongin looks so ethereally sensual that he kind of feels like crying. “I… where did you even…” he’s speechless. 

“Jongdae and Baekhyun said… I should.” Jongin traces a finger against the hem of his skinny jeans innocently, Sehun’s jaw tightens as he fixates on the minute movement. “What?” 

“Fuck, Jongin.” Sehun’s gut pulls taut with need. “You look so fucking sexy.” The merman bites his lower lip to keep from smiling, and something in Sehun snaps. He strides forward and seals his lips against Jongin’s, tasting the liquid syrup of sweet summer peaches on his tongue. Jongin whimpers, then melts into Sehun’s touch. The latter absolutely devours him, licking hot and heavy into his mouth to coax out even more fetching sounds from the merman. Jongin’s hips twitch against his restlessly, and Sehun drops his hands to bracket Jongin’s warm, petite waist. 

“Your shirt,” Sehun groans in between tiny nibbles of Jongin’s plump bottom lip. “Fuck, baby, I’m going to explode.” Jongin tastes so sweet; he smells exactly like honeysuckle. Sehun feels punch drunk in his presence. “I missed you,” he whispers while Jongin trembles, kissing back sloppily. “Missed you so much, darling.” The merman holds tightly onto the sides of Sehun’s shirt, pulling him impossibly closer to his own body. Sehun’s scent wreathes around him, hints of sweat and weariness, but comfortingly Sehun, clean ocean breeze and spicy musk in Jongin’s arms. Sehun kisses him until all the peach lip gloss has been transferred onto his lips; when he finally pulls away after an eternity--or mere seconds, Jongin can’t tell--his mouth sparkles, too. Jongin sighs happily when Sehun touches their foreheads together, cups Jongin’s neck gently. “You are so beautiful,” Sehun whispers, staring into the endlessly blue haze of Jongin’s hooded eyes. Jongin squirms happily and burrows against Sehun’s chest, feeling clothed erections brush together through one too many layers. Sehun shifts his hips forward eagerly. 

“You’re really turned on right now, Sehunnie.” Jongin giggles and drapes his arms over Sehun’s shoulders, clinging onto him and stumbling backwards as Sehun moves vaguely in the direction of the bedroom, instantly forgetting about all the things he has to unpack.

“You’re so sexy.” Sehun’s hands slip further up Jongin’s torso. “Teasing me like this. You know I like it so much.” 

“You like it?” Jongin feigns innocence, giggling when Sehun pushes him onto the bed and hovers over him. He tilts his head to the side, staring up at his fiance through alluring, hooded eyes and parted lips. Sehun groans. 

“You’re too much.” Jongin smirks, watching as Sehun shucks his shirt over his head before lowering himself over Jongin to kiss him. “D’you plan this?” Sehun murmurs, greedily running his hands all over the merman’s body. The soft curve of his waist, the sharp jut of his hip bone. Jongin pants, soft and pliant, shaking his head in dissent. “I see. So you just like seducing me.” His hand cups Jongin’s hard erection, and the merman gasps softly. “I guess I have a lot to make up for,” he croons against the shell of Jongin’s ear. 

“Two whole days,” Jongin whispers. 

“I’m sorry.” Sehun chuckles before sliding down--breath hot against Jongin’s tan skin--and attaching his lips to the sensitive junction of his neck. “An unimaginably long time, isn’t it?” The merman’s only response is a soft, melodic whine as Sehun’s hand strokes firmly against the denim of his jeans. He’s blushing everywhere--his cheeks, the expanse of his long, tan neck, his chest. Sehun leans down to brush kisses against bare skin, nudging the sad excuse of a shirt up as he does so. Jongin’s breath hitches when Sehun licks warm and grainy strokes over his nipples, and he arches up uncontrollably. Sex with Sehun is unimaginably good, whether his fiance pulls him close and whispers sweet nothings in his ear as he makes love to him, or fucks him out of his mind, until Jongin can only cling to Sehun’s broad back and sob from his pleasure. Today, he is Sehun’s personal deity, nothing short of a god. Sehun makes it a point and a challenge to reduce Jongin to incoherency. He kisses every inch of warm, smooth skin until Jongin squirms helplessly against the sheets. When he peels those godforsaken jeans that cling to Jongin’s legs off of him, the weight of his cock sits hot and heavy in Sehun’s hand as the merman bucks into the barest stimulation desperately. 

“Gonna make you feel so good,” Sehun murmurs, pressing a gentle thumb into the wet slit. Jongin gasps and shudders. “Gonna treat you right, princeling, make you scream my name.” The soft pad of his finger rubs back and forth against the tip of Jongin’s cock, focusing on the most sensitive areas only. Jongin emits a high-pitched, sweet moan and clutches the sheets to ground himself. Sehun’s warm hand rests gently against his hip, tracing his v-line over and over as he pulls long and firm from the base of Jongin’s cock to the tip. 

“Se-Sehun…” Jongin's breath comes in stuttery, shaky gasps as he tries to hold himself back. He is ten times as privy to touch, and given that Sehun has memorized all of his weak spots like they are his own… “No, no.” His resounding whimper is pitiful when Sehun pulls away. His skin buzzes insistently, yearning for release. It was _so good… _There’s the click of a cap, then Sehun’s hands return, this time slick with lube. Jongin jumps and moans in relief as Sehun strokes him firmly.__

__“Spread for me, pretty baby.” Sehun smirks and his other hand dips below Jongin’s balls to press insistently at his perineum. Jongin flushes red in embarrassment. “I’ll make you feel amazing,” Sehun croons, leaning over to kiss his lips softly. “I’ll take care of you.” So Jongin slowly bends his knees and brings them up, presenting a tight, pink hole that Sehun rims gently with his middle finger before breaching. The hand on Jongin’s cock never stops moving, even as Sehun fingers him carefully, coaxing out the sweetest moans and whimpers from the merman._ _

__“You like getting fingered so much,” Sehun remarks, crooking two fingers against Jongin’s sensitive walls and thrusting gently._ _

__“P-please, Sehun… please…” Jongin’s toes curl as a third stretches his entrance and he feels the sting of being penetrated._ _

__“Good princeling,” Sehun praises, slick sounds of lube filling the room. Jongin is absolutely ruined; moans falling helplessly from his lips, so completely drowned in the feeling of pleasure that he shivers uncontrollably. He can barely think straight._ _

__“Ngh… S-Sehun, I--it’s so--h-ah…” Jongin’s abs tense; he’s going to explode._ _

__“No.” Sehun’s hand tightens around the base of Jongin’s cock just as he is about to tip over into orgasm. “Don’t cum.” His fingers still in Jongin’s ass._ _

__“Ah!” Jongin heaves, trying desperately to chase after that ephemeral feeling of climax. “Sehun!”_ _

__“Breathe, princeling.”_ _

__“I need it, I need it so bad,” Jongin pleads, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. “Please, please, please--no, please--” Sehun slides his fingers out of Jongin’s hole, watching it clench desperately around nothing. The merman grips the sheets tightly, reduced to an incoherent mess. “I’ll do anything, Sehunnie, I--”_ _

__“Don’t cum,” Sehun warns, and his hand disappears from the base of Jongin’s cock._ _

__“Please, Sehun.” Jongin thrashes, furiously fighting the all-consuming urge to release._ _

__“Fuck, you’re so gorgeous.” The bed dips, and Jongin flutters his eyes open to see his naked fiance kneeling over him, cock hard and upright between his legs, miles of pale, milky white skin readily accessible. “You sound so beautiful when you beg.” Jongin’s lips part and he pants softly with need, whining low on each exhale. Sehun lowers himself on top of Jongin, then pulls them to lie side by side, rumbling happily at the feeling of bare skin against skin. Jongin is restless, frotting desperately against Sehun for the friction that he so needs. Sehun pets his waist softly in the hopes that it will calm him down. Jongin is hot against him, warmth radiating off of his skin like a furnace. His little whimpers go straight to Sehun’s arousal, spreading slowly in his gut. Coupled with Jongin’s dick brushing up against his own, he can’t help but grab a handful of Jongin’s ass and pull him closer. “Princeling,” he purrs; and the merman whines insistently, pressing his damp forehead against Sehun’s shoulder. “Shh, shh. Settle down.”_ _

__“I need--” Jongin almost cries in frustration. “Let me.”_ _

__“Let you what?” Jongin blushes hard._ _

__“Let me cum,” he whispers. “I need to cum.”_ _

__“Baby, you’re so desperate today, it’s so pretty.” Sehun reaches down between their entwined bodies and softly wraps a hand around Jongin’s pulsing cock. “If I let you cum right now, are you going to be good for me and cum again?” Jongin nods, bucking against Sehun’s hand which is too loose to offer good stimulation._ _

__“Yes, yes, I promise, I’ll be good, Sehun--I-I’ll do anything--” A thumb rubs firm circles around his frenulum before Sehun jacks him off, fast and hard. Jongin bites down on his fiance’s shoulder and screams as his climax hits him like a freight train._ _

___“So_ fucking good for me,” Sehun praises, voice husky in Jongin’s ear. “So fucking beautiful, princeling.” Jongin gasps as he slowly comes back to his senses, huddled in the safe darkness of Sehun’s arms. Pleasure still sparks and zings through his entire body, particularly where his skin brushes against Sehun’s. “God, you’re going to make such a pretty mess tonight.” Jongin can do nothing but whine against his shoulder. “I’m going to fuck you,” Sehun murmurs, slipping a finger in between Jongin’s soft buttcheeks and rubbing past Jongin’s loose hole. “Going to fuck you so good. I thought about you while I was gone, you know.” The merman shivers. “Thought about how pretty you are, and how I love you so much.” There’s an edge of gentility to Sehun’s voice as he waits for Jongin to recover from his mind-numbingly good orgasm, even though his own arousal pleads for attention. “I--oh, God.” Sehun gasps as Jongin wriggles a shy hand in between them and wraps warm fingers around his aching cock. “Princeling…” _ _

__“You’re so _big_ ,” Jongin whispers. “So hard.” _ _

__“See what you do to me.” Sehun nuzzles his cheek softly. Jongin’s hand feels so good, stroking up and down his length. “Fuck, you’re perfect.”_ _

__“I want it.” Jongin swipes a bead of pre-cum away from Sehun’s tip. “Fuck me,” he murmurs._ _

__“Be careful what you wish for.” Sehun laughs and kisses the tip of Jongin’s nose before rolling over to brace himself over Jongin, positioning himself at his entrance. The blunt, fat head of his cock presses tantalizing against the tight ring of muscle. Jongin pants in anticipation of being spread open, filled by Sehun’s length. The human intertwines their fingers together on either side of Jongin’s head lovingly._ _

__“Do it,” Jongin whispers. Sehun coos at him, then presses his hips forward slowly. Jongin’s fingers tighten against his fiance’s hand, then he gasps and flinches as the sting of being penetrated settles in. “Sehun…”_ _

__“Hmm?” Sehun smirks, leaning down to kiss the uncontrollable moans escaping from Jongin right out of his mouth. “I’m not even halfway in yet, darling.”_ _

__“God.” Jongin whimpers as Sehun begins to push in again, filling him up until Jongin doesn’t think he can take any more. “I c-can’t, Sehun,” Jongin pants, clenching and unclenching against Sehun’s thick girth. “Can’t.”_ _

__“You’re being so good for me, love, just a little more.”_ _

__“There’s more?” At this, Sehun bursts into smug laughter, dick twitching in Jongin’s ass. He settles his hips flush against Jongin’s._ _

__“I literally meant a centimeter. You did so good, princeling, look at you, taking me so well.” Sehun peppers kisses over Jongin’s cheeks and nose, groaning when the merman clenches against his length. “You little shit, you’re doing that on purpose.” Jongin squeezes even more just to watch Sehun’s mouth part in pleasure. “Fuck. So tight. Can I move, sweetheart?” Jongin nods in between soft moans._ _

__“Want it.”_ _

__“Want you,” Sehun tells him before sliding back and rolling his hips forward in one smooth movement. Jongin emits a low moan. “Oh, fuck.” Sehun curses. Jongin is hot and wet against him, the friction of his walls amazing against his cock. “Fuck, Jongin, baby, sweetheart.” His thrusts turn strong and steady, and Jongin’s moans shift into high-pitched whines as Sehun pounds into him. “Mine,” Sehun breathes, watching Jongin’s eyes glisten with tears from being fucked so well. “All mine, my princeling, so beautiful.”_ _

__“Ah, ah, ah,” Jongin replies coherently._ _

__“You’re so tight, so good.” Sehun pants, hair wet with sweat at the tips. “You feel so fucking amazing.”_ _

__“Fuck,” Jongin hiccups. His cock is swelling, almost fully hard again. “F-fuck, Sehunnie, oh god.” Sehun angles himself just right; on his next thrust, he slams into Jongin’s prostate and the merman screams. “Sehun!”_ _

__“That’s it, baby, tell everyone who fucks you this well. Let them hear who loves you this much.” Sehun smirks._ _

__“Sehun,” Jongin sobs, so close to unraveling for the second time that night. His chest glistens with sweat; his cheekbones glitter with a mix of salt and makeup. He’s too hot, there’s drying cum on his stomach and hips, the bedsheets are sticky, but it couldn’t be more fucking perfect, Sehun’s cock thrusting up into him deliciously, creating the most amazing friction on his stretched rim, pushing his walls open. His fiance’s breathing is ragged and heavy over him, and his musk mingles with the scent of sex in the cottage. Jongin’s skin prickles with waves of arousal; gold mixes with reds and oranges and deep hues of purple in front of his eyelids as the pressure becomes unbearable. “Sehun, I--I’m gonna--”_ _

__“Cum with me, princeling,” Sehun pants. “Sweetheart, I’m so close, cum with me.” Jongin whimpers as a hand wraps around his cock and pulls upwards half a dozen times before his vision whites out. Sehun’s cock twitches in his ass as he clenches impossibly tight, and his fiance’s low, rumbling groan only takes Jongin higher in his haze of pleasure. It could be seconds, minutes, hours, days, or even weeks before Jongin finally floats back to his body. Sehun is lying half on top of him, a hand draped around Jongin’s waist, breathing heavy and slow. A layer of drying sweat and cum covers both of them, but neither human nor merman care in the slightest. Jongin slowly turns his head to come face to face with Sehun’s half-lidded, contented gaze. Tendrils of purple float off of him._ _

__“Love you,” Jongin whispers. Sehun brushes his fiance’s damp bangs back from his forehead and smiles softly._ _

__“Love you, too.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in posting, I do my best to write in my free time, but lately there hasn't been much of that. Luckily, this is a longer chapter, so I hope it will make up for my absence. I'll continue to keep updating whenever I can, although I can't guarantee consistency. ;-; 
> 
> You all said yes to the smut, so here is the aforementioned smut. I hope it was... unpure. :)   
> Originally, this chapter was going to take a very different direction, but I'll probably save that for a subsequent update, so I won't spoil XD   
> Ah, and Jongin has to go back to his coven soon... what will Sehun do?   
> Thank you for all the sweet comments and support. You all are too adorable. _XOXO_


	11. gifts

“Princeling, what’s this?” Sehun asks when he steps out of the shower in the morning. Jongin doesn’t answer--at least, not immediately. He pushes his armful of sheets into the washer first before pattering back into the bedroom, where Sehun is holding the starfish skeleton that Jongin set a couple nights earlier. 

“Ah.” Jongin slips his arms around Sehun’s bare, shower-warmed waist and snuggles against the back of his chest, pressing the softest of kisses on his shoulder. “It’s a present,” Jongin whispers. 

“This is beautiful, princeling.” Sehun turns it over in his hands gently. “You’ve never given me a starfish before.” 

“Oh--it’s not from me.” Jongin suddenly grows apprehensive. “It--umm--it’s from my father.” Sehun nearly drops the shell in shock. “SEHUNNIE!” Jongin swoops to catch it, giggling uncontrollably. 

“Oh, that would have been bad.” Sehun presses his hand to his chest in relief. “Your father? Like King Junmyeon father?” 

“I went to the coven on Sunday,” Jongin confesses. 

“Figured you would.” 

“I told them I was getting married.” 

“Am I about to get my ass kicked by your advisor?” Sehun asks dryly. 

“Not if he can’t get to you,” Jongin singsongs happily, winding himself back around Sehun and purring contentedly. “But this is father’s blessing for us.” Jongin presses the shell back into Sehun’s hands. “He said that… he loves you, and he’s happy for me.” His fiance is silent for a long time, so long that Jongin cautiously tunes into his aura. There’s a lot of emotions swirling around Sehun right now; relief, happiness, love, a hint of longing. “Sehunnie?” 

“Mmm.” 

“You okay?” Jongin curves around to step in front of Sehun and cup his face gently so he can take in his fiance’s expression. The hand that isn’t holding the starfish curves unconsciously around Jongin’s waist to hold him close. 

“I wish I could tell him thank you.” Sehun runs his thumb along the spiky top of the shell. “I want to tell him so many things.” He looks away from the gift and into Jongin’s sea green eyes, looking up at him curiously. “Kyungsoo, too.” 

“Sehunnie?” 

“Yeah, love.” Sehun shakes himself of his thoughts and carefully sets the starfish on his nightstand. 

“Do your parents know about me?” 

“They do, princeling.” Sehun kisses Jongin’s forehead. “And I’ll take you to meet them someday, I promise. I’ve sent them many pictures of you; I’m pretty sure they’ve forgotten that I’m their actual son.” Sehun laughs softly. “You just steal everyone’s heart, don’t you?” 

“Do they know I’m a merman?” 

“Of course not.” Sehun combs the tangles out of Jongin’s hair with his fingers. “I’ve never told anyone.” 

“Thank you.” Jongin tilts his head up to kiss Sehun’s cheek. 

“Nothing to thank me for.” Sehun smiles distractedly. “Oh, I forgot last night.” Jongin blushes hard. “Let me put some clothes on, and then I’ll show you all the presents I got you.” 

“Huh?” Jongin’s eyes go wide and surprised. 

“You silly goose, why would I leave and not spoil you with gifts?” Sehun chuckles, gently extricating himself from Jongin’s increasingly tight grip to change into proper clothing. 

“For me?” 

“No, Jongin, for your advisor,” Sehun says exasperatedly, fumbling in his closet for his favorite shirt. “Where--” he turns around, sees it already on Jongin, and settles for another one. “You have your own clothes, princeling.” 

“I like yours. They smell like you, they’re soft.” 

“Stealing yours then,” Sehun grumbles playfully. 

“Yes, please. Now they’ll smell like you, too.” Jongin preens, then latches onto Sehun’s backside happily when he unwinds his towel from around his waist. 

“Darling...” Sehun warns. 

“Hmm?” 

“Do you want your gifts or do you want me to rail you?” Jongin pouts, but releases his handful of buttcheek. 

“Later?” 

“If that’s what you want.” Sehun chuckles. 

“If YOU want,” Jongin insists. 

“When have I ever not wanted sex?” Sehun smirks dangerously. “Anyway. Come on.” He ambles out of the bedroom, Jongin right on his heels, and rummages through the numerous shopping bags before handing them all to his fiance. Jongin’s jaw drops, and his lower lip trembles. “Why?” Sehun asks with a laugh when tears gather in the corner of Jongin’s eyes. “Don’t cry. Why are you crying?” 

“They’re all for me?” 

“If you ask me that one more time, I’m throwing them all in the ocean for Kyungsoo. I should probably woo him at one point or another anyway. Ooof!” Sehun huffs as all the breath gets knocked out of his lungs when Jongin squeezes him tightly. 

“There’s too many presents,” Jongin splutters into Sehun’s shirt. “I--nobody ever--gives me--” 

“You better not get presents from anyone else,” Sehun grumbles. “Only I get to give you them.” 

“Y-you’d be such a-a possessive merman,” Jongin sobs between happy tears. 

“Yuppp. Come here, princeling. Sit down, open all of these. I want to watch that pretty face light up.” Jongin lets himself be dragged to the couch and slowly pulls the first bag towards himself as Sehun flops down next to him with an extremely self-satisfied smile on his face. 

“What’s this?” Jongin asks, flipping through a book with elaborate, blank designs. 

“Mmm…” Sehun rummages in the bag and takes out a tin box filled with colored pencils. “It’s a coloring book. I thought you could… since you can read auras… well. You don’t have to color our aura’s, you could just color for fun, but you can treat it like a journal if you want to. It’s meditative. I used to color all the time in university.” Sehun’s eyes curl into half crescents as Jongin carefully examines the colored pencils, then looks up at his fiance with shining eyes. 

“Can we do it right now?” 

“Takes a while to finish one of these, but we can do a section.” Sehun scoots closer and opens the adult coloring book to the first page. “What color are you right now?” 

“Ummm…” Jongin hands Sehun sea green, watching as Sehun carefully shades in the leaves of a flower before selecting sunset orange for himself. 

“You can fill it in as the day goes by,” Sehun encourages. Jongin reaches to kiss him, and in doing so, tips the tin of colored pencils all over both their laps. 

“Oh, damn.” Jongin giggles. 

“I’ll clean these up, you look in the next bag.” Chocolates. Fancy ones, too. Jongin sighs happily when he pops a piece in his mouth, then holds one out to Sehun, too. 

“You and your sweet tooth.” Sehun chuckles. Per his encouragement, Jongin squeals after every bag. Face masks, cute clothes, photo frames for their pictures together. 

“Sehunnie,” Jongin clamors in Sehun’s lap to press kisses to his face. Sehun smiles, carding his fingers through his fiance’s hair. “Sehunnie, I don’t even know what to say.” 

“What about all those presents you give me?” Sehun kisses his temple. “I love you. Of course I’ll spoil you. I want to see you happy.” 

“You make me happy,” Jongin whines. “You don’t need to get me anything.” 

“Hush, princeling,” Sehun soothes. “Presents mean something to you. They’re special. And even if they weren’t, you would still be getting spoiled.” Wrapping his arm around Jongin’s waist, he reaches out for the last untouched bag. “You still haven’t finished looking through it all, love.” Jongin remains curled up in his lap even as he pulls things out. 

“What’s this?” Jongin gasps. “Books?” 

“Oh, I--” Sehun falls silent as Jongin eagerly glances through the titles. 

“Will you read to me?” 

“If you want. I know you like reading.” Sehun’s breath catches in his throat as Jongin’s eyes fall upon the last title. 

_Ocean Views_  
Anonymous 

“Sehun?” Jongin asks. “Who wrote this?” Sehun’s finger traces down Jongin’s arm gently, slowly. 

“You know, don’t you?” Sehun’s murmur is quiet in Jongin’s ear. 

“You wrote a book.” Jongin’s voice is faint. 

“I have a lot of time.” Sehun smiles. “Like I’ve said before, I didn’t spend four years pulling shit out of my ass for long-winded essays on rhetorical analysis for nothing.” 

“You’re an author?” Jongin stares at the cover of the novel. 

“I guess so.” Sehun keeps his arm wrapped solidly around Jongin’s waist. “It’s doing… quite well, actually. Better than anything I would make at the arcade. It’s no rocket science salary, but I’m not complaining.” He heaves a complacent sigh. 

“How long have you worked on this?” Jongin murmurs, still mesmerized. 

“Since we began dating, really. So… few years? Mmmm.” Sehun chuckles. “It started as a project on the side in undergrad, but when I graduated, I realized I didn’t really want to let go of it, so.” 

“What’s it about?” Jongin opens the book to flip through the first few pages, careful not to break the spine. 

_For my princeling._

“It’s not about mermen, if that’s what you were worried about. It’s very artistic and abstract.” 

“You wrote me a book,” Jongin whispers, touching the inked words of dedication on the page.

“I did.” 

“You wrote a book for me.” 

“Yes.” Sehun readily accepts Jongin’s small, disbelieving kisses. “I’m not done.” 

“No?” Jongin’s voice is small and overwhelmed. Sehun melts. 

“I’m never done when it comes to you.” He ruffles Jongin’s hair gently. “But I’ll wait until you come back to surprise you with it, okay?” 

“M’not leaving.” Jongin straddles Sehun’s lap and buries himself into his fiance’s neck. 

“You have to.” Sehun chuckles. 

“I refuse.” 

“You’ll come back soon. Two weeks, sweetheart. Aish, you’re like this every time.” 

“I don’t know what I’m gonna do without you,” Jongin whimpers. Sehun holds him strong and steady, smiling in spite of himself. 

“You’ll take care of your coven and be a graceful, beautiful prince. And then you can come back to me, where you’ll be my princeling. My baby.” Sehun pats his back slowly. “You’re going to fall asleep, aren’t you,” he murmurs. Jongin hums listlessly. “Well, it’s quite late for you.” Sehun glances at the clock. Almost noon. “To bed for you, then, and to work for me.” 

“Don’t go.” 

“M’at home today, princeling. I started working part-time because of this.” Sehun reaches out to tap the cover of his novel lightly. “You just didn’t notice because I didn’t tell you.” A smirk settles on his face before he stands up, Jongin still wrapped in his arms. “Go to sleep.” Sehun pulls the covers over the merman and presses a kiss to his forehead. “I’ll be in my study.” 

\----

Sehun is absentmindedly doodling dolphins across his newest manuscript when Jongin wakes up to lean against the doorframe of his study, rubbing sleep from his eyes. 

“Good evening.” Sehun looks up and smiles. “Want to go watch the sunset?” Jongin nods, a drowsy pout on his lips. 

“I have an idea,” Jongin murmurs when they’re walking hand in hand along the shoreline, picking their way past the rocks of the cliff and further away from the dock. 

“I’m listening.” 

“Sea glass.” 

“Mhm?” 

“You can talk to my father that way, if you want. And Kyungsoo.” Sehun doesn’t stop walking, but he slows down as his thoughts become contemplative. 

“I can do that?” 

“I can activate it for you.” Jongin squeezes his hand. “You just have to talk.” 

“I would like that.” Sehun nods slowly. 

“Okay.” Jongin pulls away. 

“Wait--” Sehun looks around to check nobody’s watching as Jongin strips and dives effortlessly into the surf. “Was this just an excuse to get in the water?” He calls teasingly, stepping closer to the waves. 

“Kinda!” Jongin’s head pops up several yards out, already past the breakers in the blink of an eye. “I’ll be right back!” 

“I’m sure you will be.” Sehun picks up Jongin’s discarded clothes and folds them neatly, then turns to face the ocean even though he can’t see his merman at all. Underwater, Jongin sighs at the feeling of water slipping past his limbs and finally being back in his natural form. Try as he might to ignore it, days with Sehun are getting more uncomfortable. He’s reluctant to leave his afternoon soaks in the bathtub. It’s time for him to go home. Still, Jongin figures he can last at least one more day until he won’t be able to fight the call. From the sandy bottom of the sea, he finds two discarded pieces of glass. 

The green of the glass glows faintly when he murmurs the enchantment. He does the same with the blue before gripping them tightly in his palm. When he gets close enough to the shore, Sehun is standing on the sand, staring out at the waves. 

“Sehunnie. Hold your hands out.” Sehun looks in the direction of Jongin’s voice and spots the silhouette of his head, bobbing among the waves as the backdrop of the sky darkens behind him. Cautiously, Sehun cups his hands in front of him. Jongin conjures a stream of water that splashes the front of his boyfriend's shirt when it hits him. Sehun’s resounding yelp of surprise can be heard above the sound of waves hitting the sand. Jongin cackles mischievously, but when Sehun looks in his hands, there’s a small puddle of seawater and two very ordinary looking pieces of sea glass. 

“You just have to talk,” Jongin calls. He can see the glow of the glass from the ocean. “If you’re not recording, curl your fingers over it. Blue is for my father, green is for Kyungsoo.” 

“I--” Sehun glances at the sea glass, uncertain, but he slowly closes his fingers around the green piece. “Okay.” 

“I’m--I’ll stay in here for a bit until you’re done.” Jongin slowly submerges himself underwater. He’s curious about Sehun’s messages, but he won’t pry. Sehun sits down on the dry sand and clears his throat. His thoughts were so clear this morning, but now, faced with the task of actually organizing them… Sehun closes his eyes. 

====

 _Give me a moment, Your Highness. I’m… nervous._

_I’m not sure how much Jongin has talked about me, but I’m Sehun. Oh Sehun. I received your kind blessing this morning. Thank you so much. We’ve never met before, or talked for that matter, so I have a lot of things I want to say. I’ll try to keep this as brief as possible though._

_I’m humbled that you’ll allow me to take Jongin’s hand in marriage. He is your greatest gift to this world, Your Highness, and as you’ve entrusted him to me, I will do everything in my power to cherish him._

_Throughout all these years, I know that our relationship has been haphazard at best. I never intended to make things difficult for Jongin. I do my best to keep him comfortable, to look out for his health, but you know him; he’s stubborn as much as he is sweet. He does what he wants to, and I’ll never try to stop him._

_Jongin’s happiness is mine, too. I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love him. If one day Jongin has his heart broken by me, Your Highness, please eviscerate me off the face of this earth. He’s my little princeling, my everything. I know he is everything to you, too, but if you’ll excuse me, I will have to perpetrate your stereotype of my species and be a little more selfish when it comes to him._

_I hope that one day, we will be able to meet. I have thoughts about doing so, and I think it is wholly possible if you should allow it. I don’t have to meet you in the vicinity of your coven if you request security and privacy. Throughout all these years, I have never told another living soul about your presence; like I said, I only wish for Jongin’s safety and happiness._

_I haven’t set a date for the wedding yet. I want to discuss it with Jongin, to see when he wants to get married. We’re not in a rush. We can be engaged for a long time to come. If, perhaps, you would also like to see a ceremony, it can be arranged. I’m willing to follow whatever customs or traditions you all may have, specifics permitting._

_If you choose to reply, Jongin will inform me of your message if you do. If you don’t, I understand. Please consider this a gift from your to-be son-in-law. I will always do the best for my princeling._

====

 _Hello, Kyungsoo._

_I am Oh Sehun._

_I must preface this message with an apology for causing you so much trouble. I know that Jongin is already stubborn and playful to begin with, but when he’s in head over tails in love, he tends to be even more difficult. You are not the only one who has to constantly look over their shoulder to keep him safe. He may be the crown prince of your coven, but he is my precious sweetheart, my little princeling who loves long afternoon naps and ice cream dates._

_I know how you feel about me, and I understand. Your duty is not easy to fulfill, especially when Jongin is away more often than not. I’m sure you love and care for him very much, and for this, I also owe you a thank you. Thank you for always looking out for him and having his best interests at heart. In many ways, we have things in common. I know that my presence complicates things for you, but seeing as our prince wants to live with a foot in both worlds, then I only want to help._

_Jongin told me that he told you we are engaged, and I am sure that His Highness has already told you of his blessing. However, I would like your blessing as well, because you mean a lot to Jongin, even if he may not say so. It upsets him when he spends time with me whilst knowing that tensions run high back at the coven. It would be the greatest honor if you consider me worthy of Jongin’s hand in marriage._

_You may consider this glass a gift from me. Thank you for doing the best that you can, and for holding me to your standards. I will always do the best for my princeling._

__====_ _

__Sehun closes his hand gently around the green piece of sea glass and looks out into the water. The beach is dark now, and the sky is speckled with dots of faraway stars. Over the rippling waves in the distance, the moon hangs in the night, almost half full. Sehun looks up at it wistfully._ _

__“Princeling, I’m done.” He’s not sure if Jongin is actively listening to him or not, but he stands up slowly, dusting the sand off of his pants and wading into the surf. “Sweetheart? Where are you?”_ _

__“Sehun?” Jongin’s voice is faint, as if it’s far away. “Are you talking to me?”_ _

__“Yeah,” Sehun calls into the breeze. “How far did you swim?”_ _

__“Just a second, I’ll get closer. It’s hard to hear you.” Sehun listens for the sound of splashes, discordant against the constant crash of waves against the shoreline. It takes a few minutes; Jongin must’ve done some serious exploring._ _

__“I can’t see you,” Sehun murmurs, just as a cold hand touches his ankle. “Oh.”_ _

__“Did you deactivate them? I can’t see the glow.”_ _

__“They glow?” Sehun opens his palm._ _

__“Yeah, you did it right.” Jongin sounds proud. Around them, small waves wash up and cover the merman from time to time. Sehun slips the glass into his pocket and reaches down to pull Jongin further up onto drier sand, then kneels down to hold his hand as he transitions, pressing warm lips to the merman’s knuckles and tasting salt. But tonight, even when Jongin regains his legs, he continues to whimper brokenly in discomfort._ _

__“Princeling?” Sehun asks, cupping Jongin’s face with a bit of fumbling. It’s so dark that he can barely see Jongin right next to him. “Baby, what’s wrong?”_ _

__“Hurts.” Jongin’s skin is warm to the touch. “I don’t… I don’t think I can fight it anymore.” Sehun sighs so quietly that the wind takes it away before Jongin can hear._ _

__“Then you should go home.” Sehun brushes Jongin’s hair out of his eyes softly._ _

__“I’m sorry. I thought… maybe a few more days--”_ _

__“There is nothing to apologize for.” Sehun presses his hand to Jongin’s forehead to take his temperature. “Please don’t apologize for being you, princeling.”_ _

__“I wanted to order pizza tonight and watch a movie with you.”_ _

__“We can do that next time.” Sehun kisses Jongin’s feverishly hot lips. “You’re burning up.” Jongin pulls his legs to his chest and breathes slowly, vying for a few more minutes with Sehun._ _

__“I don’t want to leave, Sehunnie.”_ _

__“I know.” Sehun brushes tears off of the merman’s cheek. “Don’t cry, princeling. It’s only a few weeks. We do it every time.”_ _

__“But--”_ _

__“I’ll miss you more than you know.” Sehun caves. “I’ll miss you so much. I miss you every time.” Jongin cries quietly, leaning his head against Sehun’s shoulder, trying to remember his scent and presence before it disappears. “Don’t cry,” Sehun murmurs again, swallowing around the lump in his own throat._ _

__“You’re so devastated right now.” Jongin watches dark blue seep out of Sehun like rolling waves. “Sehunnie, I’m so--”_ _

__“Hey--hey, princeling, listen to me. Listen.” Sehun combs through Jongin’s wet, tangled hair. “Don’t try to talk, just breathe, okay? Sweetheart, I don’t ever want for there to come a day where you either can’t come onto land, or can’t go back to your coven. This physical reaction? It’s normal for you. Your body is functioning the way it should be. That’s all I need. I need you to be healthy and strong.” Sehun brushes more tears away from Jongin’s cheeks. “I’ll miss you, and I love spending more time with you. But this--we’re also used to this. I’m okay with it. Don’t you know that?” Sehun gently touches the ring on Jongin’s finger. “Are you okay with it?” A tremulous nod. “So you do whatever makes you feel comfortable,” Sehun whispers, pressing tender kisses against Jongin’s temple. “And the next time you come back, we’ll have even more fun together.” He reaches into his pocket to pull out the two pieces of sea glass, pressing them into Jongin’s warm palm. “Take these to your father and Kyungsoo for me, okay? Thank you for being my little mailman.” This earns him a small giggle. “Give me a kiss, princeling, and I’ll help you back in the water. Get home safely.”_ _

__“You, too,” Jongin whispers, placing his lips against Sehun’s. “What are you… going to do?”_ _

__“Work.” Sehun smiles when he pulls away. “I’m writing a new book for you.”_ _

__“Really?”_ _

__“Of course.” Sehun scoops Jongin up into his arms carefully and walks back into the surf. The wind whips his hair into his face, and his wet shirt sticks to him. “I think it might storm tonight,” Sehun murmurs._ _

__“Please get home safely.”_ _

__“I will, princeling. Don’t worry.” Sehun steals one more kiss before lowering Jongin into the water. “Go on. Go home. They’ll be happy to see you.”_ _

__“Two weeks,” Jongin promises._ _

__“We’ll see.”_ _

__“Two and a half, at most.”_ _

__“I’ll keep a lookout for you, don’t worry.” Sehun clasps Jongin’s hand tightly. “Goodbye, my love.”_ _

__It’s too quiet on the way home._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that I think about it, this was semi-angsty...  
> Sorry not sorry for the sad ending ;)  
> I promised happy times though, and so they will have more happy times!  
> Thank you SO MUCH for all the comments I got on the last chapter with all that speculation about the surprise! We'll see what it is soon hopefully :3 Sehunnie is the sweetest in this AU, I love writing his thoughtfulness. Also author Sehun? What do you all think about that? <3  
> I hope I can update again soon. Thank you for sticking around as I keep on adding chapters with no end in sight XD. As always, it means so much to me.


	12. now all I do is wait

~~

_“Are you seducing me?”_

_Sehun asks the question brashly, carelessly one day. His feet dangle into the water; underneath him, the wooden planks warmed by summer afternoon sunlight. The merman floats on his back in the water, golden scales glinting brilliantly in the sun. Upon hearing Sehun speak, Jongin’s head tips over to look at him amusedly, the corner of his lips already curving into a mischievous smile._

_“Are you perhaps falling for me?” There’s a blush high on Jongin’s cheeks, but Sehun carefully disregards it as the temperature’s fault._

_“I’m just a little confused.” Sehun sighs and leans back on his hands, tilting his head up to the sky so he doesn’t have to look Jongin in the eyes while having this conversation. The latter watches him dreamily._

_“Maybe it’s the other way around,” Jongin whispers. Sehun’s lap looks so inviting._

_“What’d you say?_

_“Whatcha confused about?”_

_“Just…” Sehun’s dark eyebrows furrow together in thought. How I can’t stop thinking about you, his mind supplies. How I look forward to seeing you so much. “Is there such a thing? There are rumors…”_

_“Pfft. Always rumors.” Jongin sighs happily and preens when Sehun drops his head to peer at him curiously. “Do you think I’m seducing you?” There’s a cute little smirk on his lips as Sehun considers him carefully._

_“You’re flirting with me,” Sehun notes. Jongin giggles. “Why?” His heart pounds despite the relaxed, easy banter._

_“Because I can’t seduce people.” The merman disappears under water only to pop back up again and brace the wooden dock with his forearms. Once upon a time, Sehun would have flinched, but he only spreads his legs a little wider to accommodate the merman and glances down at him. “There is no such thing.”_

_“Oh.” Sehun considers this._

_“So I just have to resort to flirting.”_

_“Do you flirt with everyone?” Sehun asks._

_“Humans are SO dense,” Jongin mutters._

_“Huh?”_

_“What do you mean?”_

_“I’m just… I don’t know what merpeople are like.” Sehun bites his lower lip in thought. “If flirting is natural for you, or if it’s… exclusive, you know.”_

_“I give you presents,” Jongin says softly, looking up at him with big puppy eyes. Sehun falters._

_“Yeah…”_

_“I visit you.” Jongin gasps softly when Sehun lays a gentle hand against the nape of his neck and strokes the wet curls of hair. The merman nuzzles into his touch. “What are you doing?”_

_“Just giving you a little affection.” Sehun’s thumb brushes across his cheek, watching Jongin’s eyes flutter shut. “You look so sad and lonely.” The merman doesn’t reply, but he does shyly tip his head to rest against the soft of Sehun’s inner thigh as he pets him. “Pretty thing, how come nobody loves you?” The words are barely whispered, but Jongin hears them anyway. Still, he doesn’t say anything, instead drifting lazily and letting the sun warm his tan skin as he basks in Sehun’s attention.._

_~~_

The bar is packed on Friday night when Sehun gets there. Of course. He takes a seat at the bar and drums his fingers along the waxy wooden table until Jongdae turns to him with a flirtatious grin. 

“And what can I get you, my love?” 

“Just a beer.” Sehun chuckles at Jongdae’s unerring hot bartender character.

“Of course.” Jongdae winks at him and slides him a mug before turning away to serve the rich, snappy tourists. Sehun drinks slowly and watches Chanyeol and his band on the wooden platform. 

“Where’s your way-hotter-than-you boyfie?” Warm arms wrap around his waist. Without turning around, Sehun takes another gulp of beer and sighs. 

“He had work.” 

“Hot, cute, and talented.” Baekhyun hops up on the bar stool next to him. Without even asking, Jongdae slides him a beer as well. “You look like you’ve been broken up with.” 

“Oh, I’ll be alright.” Sehun leans his hand against his cheek. “Here for Chanyeol, I assume?” 

“Minseok gives me free chili cheese fries and I get to watch my hot boyfriend fuck it up on stage. I’m here almost every night, it’s nice to see you around.” Baekhyun clinks glasses with Sehun. “You should bring Jongin sometime.” 

“He doesn’t really love crowds.” 

“I see.” Baekhyun doesn’t press. He, along with Sehun’s close inner circle, are aware that Jongin is different, that there are extenuating circumstances they’re unaware of. But seeing as Sehun doesn’t elaborate, and Jongin has a heart of gold that manages to make everyone fall for him, they’re perfectly happy to accommodate him without asking any more questions. “Maybe a quieter night then? You could try middle of the week, not many people. Restaurant level noise and Chanyeol plays jazz.” 

“Oh, maybe he’ll like that.” Sehun smiles softly. 

“Whipped,” Baekhyun teases, but he throws back the rest of his drink and sighs. “It’s gonna be 1:00 am before everyone gets the fuck out of here. You wanna stick around until then?” 

“Sure. I have nothing else to do.” Sehun shrugs. 

“Awesome, you can help with clean up.” 

“Yeah, no problem.” 

\----

“God, Baek, he’s all sweaty,” Minseok chuckles as he locks the door behind the last straggling customers and Baekhyun jumps up on the stage to hug his boyfriend. 

“Hottest in town, babe,” Baekhyun gushes. Chanyeol ruffles his hair affectionately. 

“Hey, Sehun, nice to see you around.” 

“Likewise,” Sehun murmurs, collecting glasses and piling them on top of each other to take to the kitchen. 

“Sehunnie, did Nini come?” Jongdae inquires, tidying up behind the bar. 

“He left early.” 

“That’s why he’s depressed,” Baekhyun calls in a stage whisper. 

“Got attached to the makeup-crop top combo, didn’t you,” Jongdae teases, and Sehun vividly remembers kissing peach flavored lip gloss and glittery cheekbones. 

“He was happy about it. Thanks for coming over and cheering him up.” 

“I have makeup for him, actually. Just the eyeliner and lip gloss I used, I got some for him because he really seemed to like makeup.” 

“Oh!” Sehun nearly drops his stack of plates. “I’ll drop by your place tomorrow, I can give it to him when he comes back. That’s so sweet of you.” 

“No problem.” Jongdae turns around and nearly smacks into Minseok, who has quietly appeared from the kitchen, looking sweaty and disheveled after working a long night. “You look like you need 20 hours of sleep, hon. You’ve worked hard today.” 

“I do need 20 hours of sleep.” Minseok drops his head onto his boyfriend’s shoulder and sighs. Sehun quietly wipes down tables with a wet rag. 

\----

“Father, Kyungsoo, I have something for you.” Jongin’s tail flicks nervously. 

“Please don’t tell me you went and got married already.” Kyungsoo sighs and braces himself for the worst. 

“I bear a present from Sehun.” Jongin pushes the pieces of sea glass towards their respective receivers with a small current. Both his father and advisor hide their surprise quite well. “I’ll leave you to listen to his message, I promised him I wouldn’t listen.” He turns and swims away out of earshot, where Yixing is waiting for him next to a few clumps of kelp that turn into a messy forest if they keep swimming east. 

“Did you give it to them?” 

“Yeah. Oh, I hope they’ll actually listen.” Jongin blows a long stream of bubbles in anxiety. 

“Prince Taemin visited while you were away.” 

“Again?” Jongin fiddles with the platinum band on his ring finger sadly. 

“I told him you were gone because of diplomatic matters. Rest assured you’ll see him by the end of the week though; you know how he is.” 

“Sehunnie gets really possessive. I wish I could get him here.” Jongin crosses his arms over his chest as they swim vaguely in the direct direction of the shore. 

“Yifan’s like that, too. He’s really protective.” 

“Yifan sounds so scary.” 

“You’d think so, but he’s actually so sweet and soft.” Yixing smiles. “He wouldn’t let anything happen to me.” 

“What does he do again? I forgot, I’m sorry.” 

“He’s a lawyer, too!” Yixing perks up. 

“Oh, so he’s rich.” 

“Kind of. We do go on nice dates and he takes me to all these hotels because of his business trips.” 

“You don’t feel the ocean’s pull?” Jongin wonders. 

“I do. I can only go once in a while, but it’s so fun.” Yixing looks at him curiously. “Does Sehun not take you on trips?” 

“He doesn’t travel nearly as much as I assume Yifan does. And he wants me to be comfortable, even though I want to travel.” Jongin pouts. “It’s sweet though. I miss him.” 

“We should visit him,” Yixing suggests faintly. 

“Right now?” Jongin looks at him incredulously. 

“I mean, His Highness and Kyungsoo are pretty distracted, right?” Yixing turns to Jongin with a mischievous smile. “Don’t tell me you’re going to get married without ever introducing me to him.” Without a word, Jongin clasps Yixing’s outstretched waiting hand and both of them go flying through the water as fast as they possibly can. 

\----

“I didn’t think this through,” Jongin realizes as they near the shore in record time. “He’s not going to be at the dock this late and this early in the week. He isn’t expecting me at all.” He wilts immediately. “I was so excited at the thought of surprising him.” Yixing squeezes his hand comfortingly. 

“Show me where you first met, then. We got this far, may as well go sightseeing.” 

“Yeah.” With slightly less enthusiasm, Jongin swims towards the surface with his best friend as the sandy bottom of the ocean begins to gently slope upwards. 

“Jongin, _wait_ , there’s someone on the dock.” Yixing yanks him back down into the water. “Shhh, they’ll hear us.” 

“How can you even see it?” Jongin strains to make out the figure. “It’s probably Jongdae and Minseok, they’re Sehun’s friends.” 

“No, it’s just one person. You have terrible eyesight.” 

“Why would you say that to your prince?” 

“Prince my ass, even I can see the dock.” Yixing accepts the playful punch on his shoulder. “Who’s that?”

“Princeling.” Sehun’s voice carries through the air and clearly towards both of them. Jongin freezes, clinging onto Yixing’s bicep as his heartbeat skyrockets. “Who are you with?” There’s a smile in his voice. “I know you’re there, you talk so loudly when you get excited. One of these days, it’s going to get you in trouble.” 

“Sehunnie?” Jongin asks breathlessly. 

“sEhUnNiE?” Yixing imitates. “Simp.” 

“Did you bring YIXING?” Sehun’s voice turns incredulous. “Or is ‘simp’ part of merpeople vocabulary?” 

“Sehunnie!” Jongin releases his best friend and swims to the dock so quickly that he nearly hits his head on the wooden planks when he bursts out of the water and drags an unsuspecting Sehun into the ocean. 

“Goddammit.” Sehun sounds anything but put off as Jongin wraps his arms around his fiance’s waist and makes happy cooing noises into his neck. “Hold on, let me get my shirt off, it’s hard to float with all this fabric even with you holding me up.” The soaked shirt is tossed onto the dock, and then Sehun’s hands land in Jongin’s hair and on his back. “I must say, I didn’t expect to see you so soon, but something told me you would come visiting.” 

“It’s so late for you.” Jongin peppers kisses across Sehun’s cheeks, uncaring of whether Yixing sees or not. “Why are you here?” 

“Went to the bar so I wouldn’t be lonely.” Sehun’s breath smells like alcohol. “M’not drunk though, it was a long night. Where’s your friend?” 

“Don’t know,” Jongin whispers, high off of Sehun’s presence and touch. “Missed you.” 

“I think it’s only been 26 hours since you last saw me.” Sehun’s aura is sea glass purple though, and he won’t stop stroking Jongin’s hair softly. 

“Hello? Lovebirds? I am Right Here.” Yixing surfaces a few feet away and floats lazily. Sehun turns to make out his silhouette in the light of the moon, noting the--

“Is your tail silver or blue? I can’t tell.” 

“Blue, light blue.” 

“Huh. I’ve only ever seen Jongin’s tail; yours is pretty, too. Nice to meet you, I’m Sehun.” 

“Well, thank you! The name is Yixing, Zhang Yixing.” 

“It’s not as pretty as mine,” Jongin butts in. 

“Not as pretty,” Sehun agrees readily, cupping Jongin’s cheek. “Nobody as pretty as you.” 

“Cute. Very cute. I approve already.” Yixing smirks up at the moon. 

“And you’re here because…?” Sehun asks his fiance. 

“I gave your glass to my supervisors, so they’re very occupied.” Jongin giggles. “Yixing had the ingenious idea to come visit.” 

“Ingenious indeed,” Sehun smiles. “How did they react?” 

“Boring. They’re so boring.” Jongin squeezes Sehun closer to himself. “Did you miss me?” 

“Why do you ask that everytime? You know the answer.” Sehun plays coy. 

“I like to hear you say it,” Jongin whines.

“Jongin, dude, you really turn into the most coquettish little shit with him,” Yixing snorts. “Where’s that attitude with Taemin?” 

“Is that the merdude who keeps trying to get with you?” Sehun deadpans. When Jongin nods vigorously, Sehun’s grip tightens. “Tell him you’re engaged. Tell him you’re mine.” 

“I want to, Sehunnie.” Jongin squishes his fiance’s cheeks and presses a kiss to his pursed lips. Yixing gags. 

“Get a room.” 

“Hey, who are you dating?” Sehun asks Yixing. “What’s his name? Jongin’s never told me.” 

“Yifan. He’s a lawyer, works in the city.” 

“Wait. WU Yifan?” Sehun asks incredulously. 

“How do you know his last name?” Yixing stops floating on his back and floats upright. 

“Dude! I went to uni with him!” Sehun’s jaw drops at the same time as the two mermen’s. “DEADASS! He was in my rhetoric class and shit!” 

“You knew Yifan before me?” Jongin’s voice goes up an entire octave in disbelief. 

“You knew my boyfriend?” Yixing asks incredulously. 

“Man, I’m sorry, I completely forgot he existed up until now. How’s he doing? Apparently he really did make it through law school.” Sehun chuckles. “Dude, he was dating YOU during uni? My God, that explains so much now. I can’t believe I didn’t make the connection sooner.” 

“See? They dated while he was in university,” Jongin complains. 

“I--are you still holding that against me?” Sehun croons softly, completely amused by this turn of events. “After all this time?” 

“I liked you SO much, I liked you from the start! You made me swallow confessions for a year! I thought you didn’t like me.” 

“He complained so much about it,” Yixing supplies. “He talked about you all the time.” 

“For your entertainment, Yifan’s whole dorm room was ocean-themed. He was really obsessed with the ‘cute dude from the beach town’,” Sehun informs Yixing, to his delight. “As for you, princeling, you could have confessed anytime and I would have probably reciprocated.” 

“But why didn’t you ask me until I went looking for you?” Jongin pouts. 

“I didn’t want to date while I was still in school. I’ve told you this a million times, darling.” Sehun smiles patiently. 

“They made it work.” Jongin points to Yixing. 

“Was my proposal not enough? Do I need to propose again?” Sehun presses his forehead to Jongin’s affectionately. “Did we not work out in the end?” Jongin laughs and closes the distance between their lips. 

They talk for hours, until Sehun’s fingertips prune from being in water and he yawns after every other sentence. When the sky starts turning gray, Jongin is almost impossible to tear from Sehun, despite the fact that his boyfriend is falling asleep in his arms in the middle of the ocean. 

“When will I see you again?” Jongin begs. 

“I don’t think we can say that for sure, princeling…” Sehun cards his fingers through his hair. “Visit me when you can, and I think I’ll know it in my heart. I get a strange feeling whenever you’re nearby.” 

“I could leave you presents in the day,” Jongin offers. “So you know when to come.” 

“Princeling, that’s not a very good use of your time at the coven.” Sehun kisses him softly. “We’ll leave it up to fate. And if nothing else, I’ll see you in two weeks.” 

“I’m going to leave you presents anyway.” 

“I know.” Sehun chuckles sleepily. “But I’m really going to drown because of sleep deprivation, darling.” 

“With two mermen around? I doubt that,” Yixing says dryly, but he tugs Jongin away. “We really need to get back, I bet Kyungsoo’s already storming the coven looking for you.” 

“I’ll see you really, really soon,” Jongin promises as Sehun hauls himself onto the dock and dries himself off with his damp shirt as best he can. “Soon!” 

“I’ll wait for you, darling.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used work time to write this chapter. Didn't look over it, so I hope there are no typos or bad grammar errors XD.  
> Please enjoy! Your comments are all so sweet, I melt every time I look in my inbox <3


	13. unexpected

It takes quite some time for Sehun to figure out how to go about this. After all, he can only imagine the panic that would engulf him if a mysterious figure from his past suddenly showed up at his doorstep and asked about Jongin. His final plan of action involves a crisp, clean suit that he hasn’t touched since his last bullshit presentation in university, an address to a skyscraper, and a single shell tucked into the pocket of his slacks. Jongin hasn’t seen him in a suit before, Sehun realizes as he combs his hair back in the mirror. He’d probably never leave the house if the merman saw him all dressed up like this. Sehun makes note of that. 

Unlike the quiet serenity of life at the beach, the city is bustling with noise and people as Sehun walks briskly along the sidewalk, heels of his dress shoes clicking against the cement. He draws attention. Of course he does. Everybody in everybody else’s business, curious heads turning to watch the handsome, sleek figure in a hurry to get to his supposed important meeting. And it is important, Sehun supposes, but his left hand shoved casually in his pocket clasps the smooth shell he had picked up from the beach after Jongin left yesterday. He hopes he’ll take it the right way. The merpeople way. 

“Hello, sir. How can we help you today?” The receptionist asks when Sehun steps into the pristine, grand lobby of the towering law firm. 

“I’m here to see Mr. Wu.” 

“Of course, do you have an appointment?” 

“Unfortunately not.” Sehun places the shell on the polished mahogany counter. “Please give him this and tell him it’s about Yixing. He’ll understand.” The receptionist looks at him doubtfully. 

“Mr. Wu is currently in a meeting. You’ll have to wait in the lobby until it ends.” 

“That’s fine. Thank you.” Sehun nods once and settles down in a comfortable armchair, crossing one leg over the other. He glances around the lobby when the receptionist goes back to typing and someone takes his shell towards the direction of the two elevators. It’s nice; Sehun figures that Yixing probably has a comfortable time with Yifan whenever he’s on land. Then again, based on their watery midnight talk yesterday, they’ve been together since Yifan was in university with Sehun. So he was there through law school and the humble beginnings too… Sehun feels a deep sense of respect for Yixing. Comparably, he and Jongin have had it easy, with him living practically on the shoreline and able to see each other virtually anytime. 

“Sir?” Someone approaches Sehun, snapping him out of his thoughts. “Mr. Wu requests your presence in his office.” He eyes Sehun warily. Sehun stands up and follows him to the elevators, mind filled with starter sentences as the lift sails up and up. They end up on the fifteenth floor and walk down a long hallway until Sehun gets to a mahogany door. The man knocks sharply on the door, then pushes it open and gestures for Sehun to enter. Yifan stares at him defensively from the moment Sehun makes eye contact with him. His hands are shoved in his pockets, but there’s a plethora of emotions written across his sharp, handsome face--perplexion, wary, protective. Confusion takes over when he recognizes Sehun. 

“Oh Sehun?” 

“Yeah. It’s been a while.” Sehun extends his hand, and after a short pause, Yifan shakes it. The lawyer opens his mouth to ask the inevitable, but Sehun decides to just drop the bomb. “Listen, has Yixing ever talked to you about his royal best friend?” Yifan raises one sharp eyebrow in concealed shock. 

“Jongin,” he states. And then, because he had the brains to make it through law school after all, “He has a human boyfriend.” His eyes widen as he takes in Sehun’s shy smile. “No fucking way.” 

“Actually, it’s fiance now.” Sehun holds out his left hand. Yifan’s eyes fall on the platinum band, then the pearl threaded through the cord on Sehun’s wrist. “Have you eaten lunch? We should catch up. Been a while and all that.” Sehun’s eyes crinkle up into crescents as Yifan’s jaw drops and he throws his hands up in the air incredulously. 

\----

“You have no idea how surreal this is,” Yifan tells Sehun over ridiculously overpriced sandwiches and cold-pressed juice. “No idea. I can’t believe this is happening.” 

“I met Yixing last night,” Sehun supplies. “When Jongin came to visit me. We weren’t dating when we were in uni, but I knew him. I can’t believe I didn’t piece it together back then.” He takes a sip of juice. “How’d you meet Yixing?” 

“Oh, I met him as a human first. He was chilling on the beach when I went with a few friends over summer vacation. We, uh, we hooked up--” 

“Nice.” 

“And then he said something along the lines of ‘huh, I’ve never had sex with a human before.’ You can imagine how the conversation went. And it kind of spiraled from there.” 

“For a species that is so hell bent on being secretive, they sure are talkative when they actually see a human,” Sehun remarks. 

“I KNOW, RIGHT?” Yifan nods furiously in agreement. “Listen, I don’t want to pry, but is Jongin clingy? Because Yixing _won’t let go of me--_ ” 

“YES! Absolutely, oh my God. I get it’s the affection thing, but seriously, so clingy. Even after this many years.” 

“It’s cute,” Kris murmurs. 

“It’s so cute. It’s really adorable.” Sehun chuckles. 

“Yixing sings all the time. He really loves music, he thinks it’s pretty.” 

“Oh? S’different for me, Jongin likes flowers and aura colors.” 

“What’s an aura?” 

“The--your mood, Yixing can’t see it?”

“No?” Yifan blinks questioningly. 

“Really? I just assumed every merperson could see them.” Sehun tsks in thought. 

“Do you think it’s just a royalty thing?” 

“Maybe. Damn, now I have to ask next time he visits. That’s crazy. See, if I hadn’t talked to you, I would have never known.” 

“This is amazing.” Yifan gestures between them two. “I’ve never met someone else, never told anyone…” 

“It gets lonely,” Sehun agrees immediately. “I don’t know if I’m doing things right, and I have to keep lying.” 

“Yeah.” Yifan chews his bottom lip thoughtfully. “I thought about--for a long time--moving closer to the ocean, to make it easier… I have a beach side house for vacations, and I guess you could say it’s Yixing’s place for when he transforms before he drives into the city to meet me… it’s hard.” 

“Yixing drives?” Sehun asks incredulously. 

“Yeah, I taught him a while back.” 

“But what about a driver’s license? He… he doesn’t even have a social security number.” 

“Ahem. Moneygetsyouthings.” Yifan coughs under his breath, and normally, Sehun would be very concerned about identity fraud, but right now, he can’t help but laugh. 

“He has a fake human driver’s license.” Sehun speaks in hushed tones across the table so nobody else hears their eccentric conversation. “That’s fucking hilarious.” 

“I can get Jongin one, if you want.” 

“You know what, I appreciate it, but I don’t even trust him with safety scissors. He is the clumsiest little princeling on land.” Sehun’s heart swells with affection. “No idea how he rules that damn coven.” 

“Is his tail blue as well? Yixing said fins--” 

“Represent coven status, yep. Jongin’s are like ribbons at the end, they go on forever. They’re pretty. And his tail is gold.” 

“Damn.” Yifan looks impressed. “Did he just leave? I know Yixing left on Sunday.” 

“Mhm, Jongin had to go on Tuesday.” Sehun holds his hand up for the check, but before he can pull out his wallet, Yifan slides his card into the book. “Hey, you’re good. I can pay.” 

“No, no. This is a gift, trust me.” Yifan smirks and Sehun bursts into laughter. “I have to go back to the firm, but please do text me.” The lawyer hands him a business card. “We should meet up when they’re back.” 

“Yes,” Sehun agrees, slipping the card in his pocket. “We have a lot to talk about.” 

\-- One week later -- 

“Princeling,” Sehun coos, bending down to reach towards the water. A cool hand clasps his. “What’s the occasion? How have you been?” Around them, fat raindrops soak through Sehun’s shirt and make it cling to his skin. 

“I want you to hold me.” Jongin’s voice is quiet. Sehun is immediately worried. 

“Come up here, darling, there’s nobody around.” He steps back and lets Jongin pull himself onto the dock. “Something wrong?” He scoops Jongin up and plops him in his lap, cradling his back with one arm, the cool, smooth fins of his tail cascading off of the dock and into the water. “I missed you,” Sehun murmurs when Jongin cups his cheek in search of a kiss. 

“I fought with Kyungsoo.” Jongin sighs quietly at the same time as Sehun. 

“Why, baby?” 

“He doesn’t think we should employ Force A. But I think we should because if we do, we might not even have to engage--” 

“Huh?” Sehun gets the feeling this isn’t about him. “Are you under attack?” Because if so, then this is about him. His other half. 

“Kind of. I just need to figure out the logistics, I swear we don’t have to stick with the original plan, but Kyungsoo is so fucking stubborn--” 

“Princeling, I’m not trying to distract you or anything, I just need to ask--are you going to be safe?” Sehun nuzzles Jongin gently. 

“I’ll be okay.” Jongin accepts Sehun’s kisses. “I’ll make Kyungsoo see sense,” he grumbles. “So fucking annoying…” 

“Prince Jongin and princeling are two completely different personalities, I see,” Sehun chuckles. “Oh, the duality.” 

“Do you not like it?” Jongin grows worried immediately. “I won’t talk about it anymore--” 

“You,” Sehun pinches Jongin’s cheek, cutting off his words with a surprised squeak. “Can talk to me about _anything,_ darling. I like you when you’re a rebellious, feisty little prince, and I like you when you’re my sweet princeling. I just.” Sehun kisses the merman’s forehead. “Like.” A kiss on his nose. “You.” Lips on lips, and Jongin giggles uncontrollably. 

“I want to come back with you tonight.” 

“I know, Jongin.” Sehun pushes back his soaking wet hair from his eyes. “Only one more week, though.” 

“So long.” 

“That’s what she said.” 

“Huh?” 

“Never mind.” Sehun smirks. “By the way, what did your father and Kyungsoo say about my message?” He keeps his tone light, but he’s been wondering all week. Jongin purses his lips and snuggles deeper into Sehun’s chest. 

“My father said he’ll send you a message with me next time.” 

“Oh.” Sehun’s heart begins pounding so fast that he’s sure Jongin can feel it. 

“He’s happy that you wrote to him, don’t worry.” Jongin smiles. “He likes you.” 

“I’m glad. And Kyungsoo?” 

“He…” Jongin frowns. “I don’t know. But he hasn’t said anything, and when I left the meeting today to come visit you, he didn’t complain.” 

“I’ll take that as tolerance.” Sehun chuckles. “I’m glad I wrote those messages.” 

“What did you say?” It’s too dark out, but Sehun is sure that Jongin is batting his eyelashes up at him curiously. 

“You didn’t peek?” Sehun teases. 

“No! I swear I didn’t listen.” 

“Well…” Sehun strokes Jongin’s scales gently. “I told them that you’re my little princeling. That you like taking naps in my arms, and when I pick flowers for you.” Jongin melts and buries his head against the junction of Sehun’s shoulder. “I told them how much I love you,” Sehun whispers against Jongin’s hair. “How you’re my everything, and how much I miss you every time you leave.” 

“I told them that I don’t ever want to see you sad, or hurting, or lonely. I always want you to be happy with me. I told them how I’ll take care of you, princeling, every single day for the rest of our lives.” 

“Stop it,” Jongin whimpers. “Stop, I’m going to cry.” 

“You wanted to know.” Sehun’s chuckle is soft and tinged with sleep around the edges, but ever so affectionate. “I love you,” he whispers as the rain pours down around them. Jongin twitches in his arms and presses his lips to the cool skin of Sehun’s neck. “Love you so much.” 

“You make me feel better.” 

“I’m glad.” 

“I don’t want to go back.” 

“I know.” 

“Are you going to catch a cold?” 

“Maybe. It’d be worth it, though.” Sehun chuckles when a hand presses against his forehead. “Are you checking my temperature for me? I’m fine.” 

“Take a hot shower and change your clothes when you get home tonight.” 

“No, darling, I’m going to sleep in this.” Sehun plucks his white, nearly see-through t-shirt. Jongin laughs quietly and sighs, long and heavy. “Of course I’ll change. Why the sigh?” 

“Nothing; I’m sleepy here.” 

“You’re sleepy? What about me?” Sehun teases. 

“You’re warm and comfy.” Jongin’s tail flicks lazily. “So soft,” he whispers. “Happy with you.” There’s a period of silence, and then he speaks once more. “Sehunnie?” 

“Hmmm?” 

“You said you had a surprise for me when I came back.” 

“That I did,” Sehun murmurs, smiling in spite of the tremendous exhaustion in his limbs. “You curious, princeling?” 

“Mhm.” Jongin blushes shyly. 

“Well.” Sehun chuckles. “You’ll just have to come back to me in a week and find out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be too busy to publish regularly for the foreseeable future, but I do hope you all enjoyed this update and I promise I'll be back with more love and fluff. I won't let this fic go no matter what, I love it too much. ^_^ Thank you for the love, the kudos, the clicks, the comments. They all mean so much to me.


	14. uninterrupted

"Jongin," Kyungsoo calls. Jongin turns around, eyes asking the question. "Are you leaving already?" 

"Yeah, I can handle the pull." He tenses, ready for a quick getaway should Kyungsoo try and loop him into staying. 

"Did His Highness leave his message with you?" In response, Jongin holds up the dark blue sea glass. Kyungsoo extends his hand and drops a clear piece into Jongin's palm. 

"Oh!" Jongin blinks in surprise. 

"Please give this to him." Kyungsoo's gaze is guarded. 

"Okay." Jongin closes his hands around the two pieces. "Thank you." 

"Stay safe." Kyungsoo swims away. Jongin stares after him, stunned. _No fighting? No guilt-tripping? No 'you're a disappointment to the species, Prince Jongin'?_ Well, he's certainly not going to complain about that. "UH! NO! LEAPING!" Kyungsoo yells after him just as Jongin is about to break the surface of the water. He sulkily swims back down. 

——

"If I jump out of the water, are you going to catch me?" Jongin calls when he sees Sehun sitting on the edge of the dock. His fiance's head jerks up and a smile spreads across his face upon hearing the disembodied voice. 

"Can't guarantee anything, princeling." Still, he holds his arms open. Jongin launches himself out of the water and smacks into Sehun with such force that he topples back onto the wooden deck. "Ack!" 

"Did you hit your head?" Jongin frets. In response, Sehun wraps his arms tightly around the merman and sighs happily. 

"Welcome back," he whispers. Jongin looks into his eyes adoringly, watching the moonlight shine on Sehun's face. "Princeling." 

"Did you—?" 

"Miss you?" Sehun finishes the question easily. "Of course." 

"How much?" Jongin asks between soft pants of transition discomfort. Sehun strokes his hair softly. 

"Soooo much, darling." Sehun gently pulls Jongin off of him so that they're lying side by side on the wooden dock. "My little princeling, I thought about you everyday, worrying if you were eating well, sleeping okay, staying safe." He strokes Jongin's cheek with the pad of his thumb. Jongin sighs and curls into his touch. "I want to do so much with you this time," Sehun murmurs, gentility saturating his gaze as he stares at Jongin in the dim moonlight. "Planned everything for you already." 

"Like what?" Jongin shivers as the last of his scales disappear. 

"You'll see." Sehun kisses him softly. He only has to lean forward a couple centimeters to close the distance between them; when he does, Jongin's lips are infinitely more soft and plush than he could have ever imagined in his daydreams. The merman lets out a soft sound and goes pliant, newly formed human body molding perfectly against Sehun's lines of muscle and soft curves. 

"Mmmh." Jongin shifts as Sehun rolls them over to lay on top of them, the soft fabric of his shorts pressing against Jongin's half-hard erection. The merman gasps. "Sehunnie…" 

"You taste so good, princeling." Sehun's breathing is ragged when he pulls away a little. "Taste sweet," he whispers, feeling dizzy. 

"It's sea lavender," Jongin murmurs, blushing a little. "The fragrance." 

"Pretty princeling." Sehun cups Jongin's cheek softly, and the merman's heart soars. The compliments. The pure, unadulterated love. The genuinity in Sehun's gaze. There is no better feeling in the world; Jongin is head over heels for this gorgeous, thoughtful man who dismisses the hard, uncomfortable wood digging into his skin just to wrap Jongin up in his arms. They tumble around the dock for hours, sporadic conversation making its way past their lips every now and then, but mostly filling the silence with long, sweet kisses and soft sighs of contentment. Behind them, the sky turns gray as the sun slowly makes its way to where sea meets sky, and Jongin shivers because of the pre-dawn coolness. 

"Cold?" Sehun asks, pulling him impossibly closer. 

"A little." Sehun's fingers trace the contours of Jongin's back carelessly, eyes half-lidded because of a sleepless night, but at peace nonetheless. 

"We should get back home, anyway. Sun's coming up, and I don't want to run into Jongdae and deal with the teasing." Sehun sighs; Jongin giggles. "He got you a present, by the way." 

"Really?" Jongin's tone is full of surprise. 

"Yes. I have it in the cottage." 

"... He got me something?" 

"Why are you always so surprised that my friends like you?" Sehun ruffles Jongin's damp hair. "You little ray of sunshine, you steal everyone's hearts." 

"I thought they kept me company out of obligation," Jongin murmurs, feeling his heart swell with happiness. 

_"No,_ princeling, I guarantee you Kim Jongdae would never come out of his house out of sheer obligation." Sehun chuckles and tsks. "That bitch, always telling me I need to socialize while hibernating like a bear." 

"Bitch?" Jongin questions confusedly. "You don't like him?" 

It's out of affection." Sehun laughs. 

"Baek, I think we're intruding," comes a voice from further up the beach. Jongin flinches hard as he realizes he's wearing no clothes, and Sehun rolls on top of him to shield him. 

"Speak of the fucking devil," he breathes. "Princeling, kiss me." 

"Huh?" Sehun's lips muffle his confusion. 

"Yep, definitely intruding. Sorry!" Baekhyun yells. Sehun flicks them both off as he sucks on Jongin's bottom lip, making him gasp. 

"Totally our fault!" Jongdae calls. "Just wanted to get in an early morning surf, we should've known you were gonna be here!" 

"Yeah, you should've," Sehun mutters.

"But they couldn't have known?" Jongin is hopelessly lost. 

"They're being sarcastic, sweetheart. And so am I." Sehun kisses him long and hard. "M'also being obnoxious." 

"But I like your kisses." Sehun simply laughs, carefree and helplessly in love. 

"Come on." Sehun sits up and holds his hand out. "Let's go home." 

—— 

"Like your lip gloss?" Sehun teases when he emerges from the shower to see Jongin leaning over his dresser, admiring the shine on his own lips. "You look cute." 

"Mmm!" Jongin backs away as Sehun makes to kiss him. "You'll ruin it." At this, Sehun bursts into tired laughter and rummages for clean underwear. 

"I see you're attached to Jongdae's present." 

"You can kiss me on the cheek, if you want." 

"That's not fair." Sehun obliges anyway. "Little tease," he murmurs, unwrapping the towel from around his waist and tossing it carelessly onto the armchair in the corner before flopping back onto the bed in nothing but a pair of boxers. He holds his arms out for Jongin. "Here, princeling." Jongin falls into them easily, making happy sounds while he snuggles into Sehun's chest. "Oh, this is nice." Sehun hums his approval. "Missed holding you." 

"Sleep better with you," Jongin murmurs, wrapping his own arms around Sehun's lithe waist. "So warm and comfy." 

"Want me to open the curtains so we can sleep in the sunshine?" Sehun asks. Jongin nods, laying lazily in the pillows when his fiance slides out of bed and pulls the curtains open. It's a beautiful day out, and Sehun's white sheets suddenly become painted with stripes of light that shine on Jongin's tan skin and half of his face. Sehun turns around and loses his breath at the sight. The merman's eyelids lift sleepily when Sehun doesn't return to bed. 

"What?" The highlight on his cheekbones is stunning. Sehun inhales deeply. 

"You're beautiful." Lies. Jongin is unreal. "Moments like these…" he falters, so sure of his feelings, yet unsure of how to convey depth. "I feel like the luckiest man in the world." It's not enough, but he tried. Jongin shifts in the sheets, and the sunlight hits his brown irises, making them sparkle a brilliant, light cocoa color. Brown. Sehun hadn't even noticed; it looks so naturally beautiful on him. Everything looks pretty on Jongin. 

"If you're lucky, then what am I?" Jongin's eyelashes flutter slowly, replaying Sehun's words over and over again. _The luckiest man in the world._

"You're…" For a published author, Sehun sure is at a loss for words. 

"I'm yours," Jongin offers, and Sehun can't help the small smile that graces his lips. Every cell in his body tingles; doesn't this boy know the things he does to him? 

"You keep saying things like that, and I'll keep you in the bathtub for a whole cycle," Sehun threatens, pulling the covers over Jongin and climbing into bed next to him. "Kyungsoo can suck my dick." Jongin whispers something that he doesn't catch. "Hmm?" 

"That's my job." Sehun's eyes widen and he chokes on air. 

"Nini! You did NOT." Jongin peeks up at him innocently under the covers and giggles, then shrieks when Sehun moves to tickle him. "You say that again, you're getting NO sleep today, I promise—" Jongin's laughter gets buried under a litany of kisses. 

"Kyungsoo left you a message today," Jongin murmurs when they run out of the little energy they had in the first place and Sehun collapses on top of his entire body. 

"Ah, really?" 

"I'll read it to you… later." Jongin waves a lazy hand in the air. "Tired." 

"Probably not important anyway." 

"Not important," Jongin agrees. "Cuddling more important." 

"Of course." Sehun slides off of him and nestles the merman close. "Pretty princeling." Their breathing slowly evens out into a comfortable doze, then drops off into a haze of deep sleep. Outside, the long grasses sway in the ocean breeze. 

——

====

_Sehun,_

_It's a long overdue pleasure to meet you. I am King Junmyeon. I'm sorry that this is a rather limited greeting, but it will have to do for now. Please forgive the unwarm welcome._

_I have received your kind message; thank you for taking the time and effort to communicate with us. Firstly, congratulations to you and my son, Jongin. He may be stubborn, but only when he is sure he is right, and I know and trust that you are the only person for him—especially because you have withstood the test of time, distance, and heartache. Rest assured that your heartfelt words of love have been acknowledged. Thank you for taking care of my son, and for treating him like your 'princeling', as you say, regardless of his hierarchical status. Your actions speak volumes about you, young man, and although we have never met, the shining happiness in Prince Jongin's eyes is more than enough to tell me about how special you must be._

_Sehun, I would love to have a chance to talk with you, be it on your wedding day or sometime else. In order to protect my coven, I must request that we rendezvous somewhere that remains at least partially unknown to you; please understand that these are precautions I must take. I know that he will read this to you, and I'm sure he would be willing to coordinate something in the near future._

_It is getting late, and I know Jongin and Yixing have rushed off to see you. Congratulations again on your engagement, and may you be well and happy. I hope to hear from you soon, Sehun._

====

 _Oh Sehun,_

_I am royal advisor Do Kyungsoo._

_Consider your request for my blessing granted._

_I will always have Prince Jongin's best interests at heart, and because of this, my standards for you will always be high. There is no need to thank me. I am simply doing my job._

_I trust you will continue to make decisions that reflect the words of your letter. I, too, will always do the best for my Prince and kingdom._

_Congratulations on your engagement._

====

"Well." Sehun turns the sea glass over in his palm when Jongin is finished reading. "That's… better than I expected." 

"Kyungsoo is very straightforward," Jongin explains as Sehun leans over to drop the two pieces of glass into the jar. "He uses as little words as possible." 

"I can tell." Sehun carefully places the lid back on the jar, then reaches out for Jongin, kissing his temple softly. "Thank you for bringing those back to me, princeling." 

"Mhm." Jongin blushes with satisfaction at a job well done. 

"So…" Sehun glances out the window. "Maybe… a little walk? And then we can order pizza and watch a show, yeah?" 

"Just like we wanted to before I left?" 

"Exactly." Sehun ruffles Jongin's hair and pulls him out of bed by the hands. "We'll just pick up right where we left off."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back~   
> Hehe, kind of. Just snuck this chapter in while I had time here and there.   
> Hoping to update again soon, please enjoy this short little one ^^ Thank you so much as always, you are all sweeter than princeling <3


	15. city lights, part 1

Sehun is absentmindedly rereading the newest 20 pages of his manuscript to himself when he hears a soft knock on the door of his study just before it opens. Jongin stands in the doorway, bare-chested, hair mussed like he just woke up, pajama pants sitting low on his hips. In his hands, he's holding a small porcelain bowl full of green grapes that he sets shyly on the edge of Sehun's desk. 

"For you." Sehun looks up at him in surprise. 

"You washed these for me?" 

"I—you haven't… had a break yet, right?" Jongin nudges the bowl closer to Sehun's pile of work. "Just… thought you should have a snack." Sehun pushes his chair back and pulls Jongin snugly into his lap. 

"Thank you," he murmurs, wrapping his arms around Jongin's warm waist and reaching out for a grape to poke into between the merman's lips. "My sweet princeling." 

"You, too," Jongin insists, reaching for a piece of fruit to feed Sehun as well. He eats obediently, gazing up at the merman with half-curled, crescent moon eyes filled with love. "Are you busy today?" His fiance inquires, poking curiously at the stack of papers on his desk. "Do you write by hand?" 

"No. This is some paperwork, planning and whatnot. Most of my work I do on my laptop." Sehun motions to the annotated manuscript on his screen. "And I'm not particularly busy, but I wanted to get some things done early so I can spend the entire day with you tomorrow." 

"What are we doing tomorrow?"

"You curious, sweetheart?" Sehun smirks as Jongin squishes his fiance's cheeks together. 

"Tell me!" 

"Well…" Sehun traces the plaid pattern of Jongin's pajama pants resting against his thigh. "I believe… a few weeks ago… you wanted to go visit the city with me." Jongin gasps. 

"REALLY?!" 

"Unless I remembered wrong." Sehun clicks his tongue. "Then we might have to be apart for a day—" 

"No, no no no." Jongin shuts him down immediately amidst self-satisfied snickering. "We're going to the city? Are we going to stay in a hotel? Are there skyscrapers? Do we get to ride in an elevator? OH, are we gonna go shopping? Is—" 

"Yes, yes, yes, probably, definitely," Sehun ticks the answers to Jongin's incessant questions off of his fingers as he answers them. "And we also need to get dressed a little fancier than normal. So some dress up as well, I suppose." At this, Jongin's eyes grow wide and he stares at his handsome fiance. 

"Sehunnie… in a suit?" 

"Sehunnie in a suit," Sehunnie in a t-shirt confirms. 

"I'm not going to make it, am I." 

"I've told you a million times, princeling, you don't need to flatter me to get my attention." Sehun chuckles when Jongin tugs at the hem of his clothing, as if already trying to replace it with a dress shirt and slacks. "I do pride myself on cleaning up nicely, though. You can borrow something from me, you'll look gorgeous." Sehun squeezes Jongin's waist. "Although you already look real good even without a shirt on." The merman preens. 

"I have a pretty torso, everyone in the coven says so." 

"And I must agree with the general opinion." Sehun traces his hands up warm, tan skin and along Jongin's defined collarbones. "You're the prettiest, sexiest, most handsome princeling." The merman's cheeks are rosy pink at all the compliments, which only serves to entrance Sehun even more. His bright smile, the way he curls against Sehun's body, his sleepy, beautiful eyes… forget Jongin's chances of survival, Sehun is positive he won't last another second in this paradise. 

"Why are we going to the city?" Jongin wonders, reaching out for the half-empty bowl of grapes. 

"Ah." Sehun rouses himself out of his whipped thoughts and returns to the original subject. "I have to attend dinner with an… important friend of mine. Figured I'd make it a staycation of sorts."

"Who?" 

"I'll introduce you if you'll be my lovely date." Sehun brushes Jongin's hair out of his eyes and touches their foreheads together gently as the merman nods eagerly. "Yeah? That's settled, then." 

—— 

"Sehunnie!" Jongin looks behind his shoulder, eyes sparkling with excitement as he pulls his fiance excitedly along the busy city sidewalk. Sehun follows amiably, feeling his heart wobble dangerously at the pure, innocent look of wonder on Jongin's face as he cranes his head to try and see the very top of the skyscrapers and gazes curiously towards every building and set of stairs. "How do they get so tall?" Jongin wonders, turning around as they wait at a streetlight. 

"Good planning and execution," Sehun answers honestly, pulling Jongin in by the waist and slipping a hand in the back pocket of his jeans. Jongin jerks and looks at him in surprise, but Sehun gives him an indulgent smile and simply walks forward as the light for the crosswalk turns green. The merman tries his best to conceal his happiness, but there's the cutest flush on his cheeks as his fiance hovers near him, fingers pressing intimately and teasingly against his backside. Sehun resumes the hand-holding as he leads the way down the set of stairs to the subway, but as soon as he swipes his card and leads an ever-increasing curious Jongin into a compartment, he reaches up with one hand to grasp the metal bar above them, then pulls the merman close to his chest and nestles his hand back into its cozy spot. 

"What are you doing?" Jongin huddles close to Sehun to avoid the crowd of strange people around them and clutches on to the straps of the overnight duffel bag slung over Sehun's shoulder. 

"Just switching things up a little. Showing you off." Sehun braces himself for the shaky stop of the subway. "You like it?" The merman nods shyly. The warmth of Sehun's hand in his back pocket makes him preen; it makes him feel valued, owned. Loved in every way possible. The train jostles slightly, causing Jongin to stumble into Sehun's chest. "You okay?" 

"Yes." Jongin's fingers find a belt loop on Sehun's jeans and gently hold onto it. They ride the rest of the route like that, intertwined, denim against soft skin, honeysuckle and clean ocean breeze in the midst of crowded, confusing city life. 

—--

"My old university." Sehun motions to the various brick buildings, cobblestone pathways, and throngs of students milling about on the campus. Jongin slows to a stop curiously. 

"Can we see?" 

"Our hotel's just up ahead; let's go check in and then take a walk, yeah? Are you sleepy?" Sehun's hand caresses Jongin's soft brown hair. 

"Is it heavy?" Jongin frets, pulling at the strap of the duffel bag to try and take it from his fiance. Sehun brushes him off and beckons to him. 

"The only thing you need to concern yourself with is having fun today." 

"I'm having fun," Jongin assures him. "So much fun." 

"Are you feeling okay?" The back of Sehun's hand nudges his forehead. 

"Yes." 

"Okay. Tell me if you don't feel well, yes? I purposely booked a suite so we have a bathtub." At this, Jongin's heart flutters. Sehun really did take care of anything. 

"I'm fine." Jongin follows Sehun up one more block, then stifles a gasp as they walk into the lobby of their hotel. 

"You can go explore," Sehun encourages. "I'll go check in. Stay on this floor." So Jongin does, following the signs to peek at the indoor pool, the gym, the neat breakfast area. He stares at the hotel bar for a long time, as well as the large conference halls and ice machine. Sehun finds him studying the button of the elevator, and Jongin startles as his fiance's hand wraps around his wrist to encourage him to press the up button. 

"We're all the way up. 16th floor." The elevator doors slide open smoothly, and Jongin steps into the small space to stare at even more buttons. "16," Sehun murmurs, patient as ever even with such trivial things. Jongin presses the corresponding button, then flinches when the elevator starts to move upwards. 

"This is weird." Jongin clings onto Sehun tightly. The space is too small and the feeling is strange. His fiance remains relaxed though, seemingly not at all worried about all the things that could possibly go wrong. 

"S'fine, princeling. Hold onto me." Sehun kisses the top of Jongin's head and watches the numbers above the door tick upwards. When it reaches 16, the merman scampers out of the cramped elevator as fast as possible. "So there was your first elevator ride." 

"That wasn't fun at all." Jongin pouts. 

"Well, I told you." Sehun chuckles as they walk down the carpeted halls past rows of heavy mahogany doors. "They're usually not that fun. This is a nice hotel, though. You wanna scan the card?" Sehun holds it out to Jongin. "Wave it in front of that sensor there. Slowly, not so fast." There's an electronic buzz, and the light flashes green. Jongin can't help exclaiming in excitement when Sehun pushes the door open. A big, clean white bed, sparkling granite bathroom counters, towels folded neatly for them. "Look," Sehun motions to the large window which offers a stunning view of the bustling city under them. "It's a pretty sight," he murmurs, although he busies himself with unpacking while Jongin wanders around the room like an overexcited puppy. "Uhf!" 

"Thank you, thank you thank you thank you," Jongin wraps his arms tightly around his fiance and squeezes. 

"For what?" Sehun straightens up from the duffel bag, utterly bemused. 

_For arranging everything perfectly. For remembering I wanted to go on a trip. For thinking about me. For being so selflessly, irresistibly thoughtful._ Jongin presses his lips to Sehun's cheek. Does he truly not know the value of his actions? 

"For everything." 

——   
The rest of the day feels blissfully magical. As promised, they wander around Sehun's old school grounds for a while before he whisks them off to go explore the rest of the bustling city streets. Lunch is composed of a shared cup of freshly squeezed lemonade from a street vendor, slices of pizza from a tiny store tucked in between a bank and a cupcake shop, cupcakes from the aforementioned cupcake shop, and 'authentic' Italian gelato and Sehun is 99% sure is Americanized, but Jongin takes a liking to the stracciatella so it's a minor detail. By the time they sit down on the side of a pretty fountain in a park, Jongin is dozing off on Sehun's shoulder, full of good food and tired out from staying awake for so many daylight hours. 

"Do you want to go take a nap before tonight?" Sehun places the shopping bags in his hands beside them. Almost everything in there is Jongin's, either of his choosing or Sehun's gifts that he had managed to sneak in while the merman's attention was elsewhere, but at Jongin's insistence, he had also picked out a few items of clothing for himself. 

"Yes, please." Jongin sighs and nuzzles into his fiance's neck. Behind them, tiny droplets of cool fountain water hit their skin. It's a beautiful day out, and Sehun people-watches the dog walkers, the university students, and joggers all passing by without a second glance towards the pretty couple. Jongin snuffles and slowly slides down to lay his head in Sehun's lap, careful not to accidentally topple into the fountain. Sehun takes that as the cue to head back. 

"Come on, princeling. Let's go back to the hotel, it's not far." 

"Nap… with me," Jongin requests, blinking lazily up at Sehun. 

"Of course." 

—— 

When Jongin wakes up a few hours later, the hotel room is considerably darker, and the city lights are beginning to pop into existence outside of the window. The bed feels warm, but too large; when Jongin turns over, Sehun is nowhere to be seen. 

"Sehun," Jongin whispers, sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes blearily. When he blinks and looks around the hotel room, he gasps. His fiance sits in the armchair in the corner casually, hair styled to neatly frame his handsome countenance, flicking through his phone with one leg crossed over the other. A light gray dress shirt with its top three buttons undone is tucked neatly into dark gray dress pants that match Sehun's simple, fitted blazer. Jongin gapes at him unabashedly, admiring Sehun's strong features; his straight nose, lean jawline, perfect eyebrows. The outfit highlights his broad shoulders and gorgeous proportions more than ever. Upon hearing Jongin shift in bed, Sehun glances up, offering his fiance a small, irresistible smile. 

"Good evening, princeling." Sehun slips his phone into his pocket as he stands up. Jongin's expression is one of pure awe and love. His fiance is so dreamy, so handsome. "Did you sleep well?" 

"Hhhhhhhgh," Jongin replies.

"You should get dressed as well." Sehun's shoes click on the dark wood floors as he walks towards the bed to kiss his fiance, and Jongin lets him do so without complaint. "Dinner reservation in an hour and a half." 

"You…" Jongin's expression is still one of pure love. "look so pretty," he breathes, shyly reaching out to touch the collar of Sehun's dress shirt. "I've never seen you wear a suit before." Sehun's eyes crinkle adorably as he sits on the edge of the bed to let Jongin admire him some more. The merman is fit to burst with excitement and pride. _His_ gorgeous fiance, _his_ handsome human… he wants to show it off; their simple, elegant life together, the pure, sweet affection they have for each other. Hidden behind the traces of ethereal, alluring Prince Jongin who won't take a lover and his obstinate arguments with his advisor is just a young merman who wants to cherish and be cherished. With Sehun, he can be wholly himself—giggling through all the lighthearted conversation they make, blushing whenever his fiance kisses his hand gallantly, shyly letting him roll the sleeves of his dress shirt up to his forearms. 

"You don't need a blazer, this will do," Sehun adjusts the collar. "There you go. So handsome, princeling. You look beautiful." Jongin looks in the mirror happily, admiring the pretty picture they make together. 

"Want a picture," Jongin murmurs. He wants to remember this moment forever.

"Yeah?" Sehun fumbles for his phone and tosses an arm casually over Jongin's shoulder as he aims the camera towards the mirror. "Look at me." _Click._ "Pretty thing," Sehun compliments. "Give me a kiss." _Click._

—— 

"Sehun!" Jongin looks towards the voice that calls his fiance's name as they walk into the semi-busy, fancy restaurant. Sehun immediately nods and offers his arm for Jongin to hold on to as the waitress leads the way to the table. Jongin remains half-hidden behind Sehun shyly, taking in the man's sharp eyebrows and piercing gaze. "How have you been?" 

"Not bad, not bad. You?" Sehun shakes the man's hand firmly with a smile. 

"I'm good, lots of work as usual, but I'm glad we could get together. My date should be right back." 

"Sounds good. Jongin, love, don't be shy." Sehun steps to the side to let Jongin shyly shake hands. "This is Kris." At the mention of the man's name, Jongin's head snaps to Sehun's, frantically trying to piece together the puzzle. 

"It's nice to meet you." The man grazes Jongin's hand with his lips respectfully. "Prince Jongin."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! And so soon, I'm excited that I could publish this!   
> Hoping that all of you are safe and well ^_^ Please enjoy the sweetness :)) <3


	16. city lights, part 2

_Prince Jongin._ The merman lets out a little gasp of surprise and stares wide-eyed at the man in front of him, then cranes to look at Sehun in bewilderment. 

"Um…" The conclusion is so simple, but Jongin struggles to really believe it. 

"Jongin?" The voice is so familiar, but in the wrong place. Jongin's jaw drops as Yifan turns around and offers a smile to Yixing, who is approaching the table. "Sehun?" 

"I take it you didn't tell him?" Sehun asks Kris from across the table; the latter shakes his head and drapes an arm around his boyfriend. 

"How?" Jongin's eyes flit from Yixing to Kris, then to Sehun, who is wearing his supremely self-satisfied smirk. 

"How?" Yixing echoes, staring at Jongin in his human form. "You're tall." 

"I—yeah, I am…" Jongin glances down self-consciously. 

"Are you surprised?" Sehun pulls Jongin's chair out for him and gently pushes the merman to sit down. Jongin nods so hard that few meticulously gelled strands of hair fly into his eyes. "Kris and I met up while you were away. The day after you two visited me, actually." 

"We decided a meet-up was in order, wouldn't you agree?" Yifan squeezes Yixing's shoulder before letting go so they can sit down at the table. Sehun's hand finds Jongin's under the table and clasps it, warm and steady. He watches the merman half-apprehensively as he leans over the white tablecloth to murmur to Yixing quietly, their conversation barely audible above the clink of wine glasses and cutlery and the soft piano playing through the restaurant. 

"When did you go back?" Jongin inquires. The butterflies in his stomach still haven't quite settled down. It's so strange to see Yixing in human form, sitting down at a restaurant as if it comes as naturally to him as swimming through kelp forests back in the coven. 

"Same day as you, I left after I finished work." Yixing drums his fingers on the table. "How… how have you been?" 

"I'm fine. You?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine too." Silence. Jongin blinks at Yixing blankly. He blinks back. This might be the first time he's ever been speechless with his best friend. 

"Princeling?" Jongin turns towards his fiance, who looks adorably nervous. 

"Why are you so anxious right now?" Jongin asks worriedly, waving away the electric blue aura pouring from his boyfriend. "I can't even see properly, what's wrong?" 

"Just making sure you're still having fun." Sehun's thumb rubs small circles against Jongin's hand. "It's our first trip, and I thought it would be a fun surprise…" 

"Well, stop it. You're clouding my vision." Jongin pouts petulantly, causing Sehun to chuckle lightly. "I'm having fun." 

"You can see human auras as well?" Yixing asks interestedly. "Wow, guess Sehun really can't hide anything from you." 

"You'd be surprised," Sehun tells Yixing from across the table. "Auras don't reflect reasoning, after all." 

"You never told me auras were a thing at all." Yifan nudges his boyfriend. 

"Huh? It's a royalty thing, that's probably why I didn't mention it." Yixing's shoulders relax; the awkward tension around the table has mostly dissipated. 

"You're pink," Jongin says suddenly. He giggles at the sight of light pink drifting from Yifan. 

"What's pink?" Yixing wants to know eagerly. 

"I don't know. It's different for everyone, I can only figure it out once I've been around someone for a little while." Jongin looks at Sehun, who has faded mostly back to a lighter, calmer shade of blue. "When you turn pink, it's because you're shy." 

"I—" Sehun opens and closes his mouth amidst laughter. "I don't get shy." 

"You're shy now," Jongin informs him. 

_"Stop that,_ princeling, don't reveal all my secrets." Sehun leans over to pinch his ear playfully. Jongin laughs happily, a beaming smile stretched across his entire face. 

—— 

"We should see each other again soon?" Jongin suggests after a decadent dinner and lovely evening filled with easy conversation. They're walking along the quiet sidewalk now, unworriedly wandering around the city together. "It's so nice to have friends on land." 

"It is!" Yixing perks up. "Yifan's friends are boring." 

"Excuse me?" There's a screech of laughter from Yixing as Yifan picks him up and throws him over his shoulder in penance for being cheeky. There's a warm hand on Jongin's waist, then a whiff of Sehun's cologne as he drapes his blazer over his fiance's shoulders, prompting him to slide his arms into the sleeves. 

"It's not cold," Jongin tells Sehun. 

"Put it on, princeling." Sehun helps Jongin into the jacket. "You get cold so easily." His eyes are soft, so tender at the sight of Jongin in his clothes, Jongin's smile because of him, Jongin's shy gaze, asking for what he doesn't verbally say. Sehun acquiesces, planting a soft peck on his lips. 

"Sehun?" Yifan calls, a little ways away because of his romping with Yixing. "It's getting late, I think we'll tuck in for the night." 

"That's fair." Sehun proffers his arm for Jongin to hold. "Thank you for inviting us to dinner." 

"Not at all! When are you two leaving?" 

"Around noon tomorrow, probably." 

"Well, let me know if you're free, and we can work around schedules to get together. Let's keep in touch." Yifan smiles. 

"You can come to town," Jongin offers. "There's good ice cream." 

"Ice cream?" Yixing looks up at Yifan eagerly. The latter laughs and ruffles his hair. 

"Yes, come visit," Sehun urges. Jongin stifles a yawn behind the back of his hand. "We'll be on our way now as well." 

"Sure thing, just text me. Have a safe trip home." 

"Did you have fun?" Sehun asks, escorting Jongin along the sidewalks, navigating blocks of city buildings with little trouble. "Are you feeling alright? Not dizzy?" 

"I'm fine." Exhausted as he is, Jongin can't keep the blinding smile off of his lips as he walks arm in arm with Sehun past neon lights and other passerby. "This was so fun, Sehunnie." 

"I'm glad." Sehun chuckles. The wine in his system leaves him drowsy as well, and a hint of recklessness creeps into his system as he abruptly leads Jongin down a darkened alleyway. The merman lets out a whine of confusion, only to have it muffled by Sehun's greedy lips on his. 

"Oh, I…" Jongin blushes profusely when he feels Sehun's bulge press into his hips. Caught between a hard brick wall and his warm fiance, he leans into the latter, caressing his soft, slightly stiff gelled hair and peppering dry kisses everywhere he can reach as Sehun's hands sneak around to grope his ass possessively. Jongin gasps. "Sehunnie…" 

"I'm sorry," Sehun murmurs, now leaving a trail of kisses down Jongin's jawline and neck. "I had to." 

"It's okay," Jongin whispers, feeling himself start to harden against Sehun as well. His fiance shifts his hips so that their clothed erections press together. 

"Are you tired?" Sehun's voice is ragged and full of promise. "I'll take care of everything, princeling, just relax." 

"It's okay." Jongin squirms as Sehun sucks at his throat, drawing out a gasp from the merman. "I'm—want you, too," he murmurs shyly. Sehun steals one more kiss, sweeping his tongue across Jongin's plump bottom lip before remembering that they're in the middle of the street and pulling back reluctantly. 

"Come on." He extends his hand and sets a fast pace down the sidewalk, with Jongin giggling at his enthusiasm. "Hurry, hurry." 

"You were the one who stopped in the first place," the merman points out, feeling very loved and wanted and cheeky because of it. 

"You looked so good, I couldn't help it." Sehun squeezes his fiance's hand when Jongin catches up to him as they stop at an intersection and tips his cheek against Sehun's shoulder. "Today was perfect," Sehun murmurs, soft for just a minute before the light turns green. "Did you enjoy yourself?" 

"I always do when I'm with you, Sehunnie." 

——   
As luck would have it, even the elevator ride up to their suite wasn't as terrifying as it had been in the morning—perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Sehun had cornered him and refused to let Jongin come up for air until the elevators stopped at their floor. Now, safely inside their hotel room, the nightlight skyline of the city, visible outside of their window, serves as the only illumination as the merman tips back onto the bed so that his fiance braces himself over him to kiss him even more. Jongin sighs in between each press of lips on lips, a testament to Sehun's unerring love and attention for him. 

"So beautiful," Sehun murmurs. His kisses only get sweeter and deeper as he licks against the seam of Jongin's lips to ask for entry. The merman shudders and goes pliant, opening his mouth for Sehun to explore with long, sweeping strokes of his tongue. Suddenly, the blazer seems like a burden as Sehun's hands crawl under it in an attempt to get closer to bare skin. "My princeling," Sehun whispers as the merman arches his neck to let Sehun suck on his sensitive points. "Only mine." Jongin's eyes have slid shut of their own accord as he pants softly, but when they open again, Sehun is hovering above him, dressed to the nines, looking very much like he wants to ravage Jongin. Jongin's head suddenly fills with visions of Sehun doing much more provocative things to him. 

"Naughty princeling." Sehun's eyes grow dark as he observes the pretty boy lying underneath him. "What are you dreaming about?" Jongin blushes furiously and shakes his head. "Tell me," Sehun coaxes; softly, dangerously. "I can make them into a reality." 

"It's just…" Jongin wishes he could reach for a pillow to bury his face in. "In… the movies… we watch…" Sehun looks more and more amused by the minute. "When he… tears his shirt open and… mmmm…" Jongin will die. Sehun's laugh is loud and throaty as he wraps Jongin up into his arms and rolls them around a couple of times on the bed. 

"My God, so these are the kind of things you like, hmm?" Sehun chuckles as he thinks back to their movie night; Jongin snuggling under the blanket and shyly burying his face in his shoulder to only peek at the TV through the entire scene. Cute. He kisses Jongin filthy-deep again, devouring him whole with his entire being so that all the merman can think about is the need that tingles just under his skin. "Watch me, princeling." Jongin shudders in Sehun's arms, so hard and dizzy from just the promise of it. His exhaustion is the furthest thing from his mind right now as Sehun toes off his shoes and socks, then fumbles at the first two buttons of his dress shirt. Jongin can barely breathe, can't possibly look Sehun in the eye as his fiance pulls the hem of his shirt out of his trousers. 

"Fuck." Jongin lets out a choked gasp when the sound of ripping cloth and buttons rolling across wood breaks the thick silence in the hotel room. Sehun kneels over him, pale skin and broad chest on full display as the light gray fabric hangs around his elbows. Jongin could cry. He presses a hand against his erection, pulsing against his trousers which feel far too tight right now. "Fuck." The moment keeps replaying itself, over and over again. 

"Anything for my princeling," Sehun croons as he pops the buttons of Jongin's dress shirt, one by one until it falls open to expose tan skin. The merman is unresisting as Sehun slides a hand between his back and the mattress to lift him to a sitting position and slide both blazer and blouse off his body, discarding them somewhere on the floor. "My pretty darling." Jongin trembles under Sehun's care, letting him kiss every inch of bare, beautiful skin until he squirms. 

"Sehun," Jongin calls softly into the dark room. It would be easy to open his eyes, find his boyfriend in the darkness that hardly serves as a hindrance to his heightened senses, but this—hearing the slow clack of zipper teeth coming apart, Sehun's heavy breathing above him, feeling the bed dip underneath—is far more exciting and venereal, especially as Sehun's bare chest presses against his, and strong, well-muscled arms wrap him up to rock them together. Jongin gets swept up in the feeling, whimpers and wanton pleas spilling out of his mouth as easy as anything, begging Sehun to "please, please hurry, I want you so much." For that, he gets a squeeze around his middle and the barest graze of teeth against his jawline before Sehun pulls away to fumble for the lube, stashed in the hotel nightstand drawer. Despite his earlier roughness, he is exceedingly gentle tonight, movements sensual and slow, every crook of his fingers bringing along another juddering sweep of pleasure that leaves Jongin a panting, limp mess of flushed skin and soft moans. He's a sight to behold, the contours of his face highlighted by the faint glow of city lights through the windows, arching up into Sehun's touch. Their lovemaking, too, is intimate and familiar, with Sehun gently rocking into Jongin from behind him, crooning sweet nothings into his merman's ear, bodies nestled perfectly together like jigsaw pieces. Jongin floats in a haze of soft touches and pleasure, only pleasure, building so slowly that his climax takes him by surprise. He cries out softly, clenching against Sehun's cock as his fiance interlaces their fingers tightly together on Jongin's flat, chiseled tummy. "Sehunnie," he sighs as he comes down from his orgasm, and that alone is enough to make Sehun come, biting down on Jongin's shoulder as he buries himself in Jongin's walls one last time and spills into him. They lay together for long minutes, listening to each other's breathing, feeling sweat dry between them and on their skin. Then Sehun shifts to press his lips to the soft skin behind Jongin's ear. 

"Princeling." 

"Hmm." Jongin's eyes flutter open. 

"I know you're tired, but do you want to take a short shower tonight and get clean before we sleep?" 

"With you?" 

"If you want." Jongin nods, so Sehun slowly slides out of bed. As he walks into the bathroom, he glances in the mirror at himself. Jongin left love marks, he realizes. He's not completely sure when, but it must have been earlier in the night when they were fooling around. There's two small hickeys on his skin—one on the tip of his shoulder, the other on his clavicle. Sehun touches them gently, and the imprint of Jongin's lips against his skin is so tangible that had he not been staring at himself in the mirror, he would have thought it was real. He runs a hand through his hair, messing up what remains of his careful hairstyle, and tests the water to make sure it isn't too hot for Jongin's scales to handle. The merman is half-asleep in bed when he pads back into the bathroom, and Sehun almost feels sorry for messing up his sleep schedule so badly. 

"Don't be," Jongin murmurs when Sehun leans over to scoop him up. 

"Huh?" Had he said it out loud? 

"Dunno what you're thinking, but your aura turned gray." 

"Oh." Sehun gently lowers Jongin into the bathtub. "You're just so tired, I'm sorry for making you stay up even more. But you'll feel better in the morning if we get clean now." He steps into the tub after the merman—there's just enough room for both of them; Jongin's fins trail out onto the floor—and pulls him to lean back against the side of the tub without taps. The shower spray rains down on both of them. "You okay down there?" 

"Mhm." Jongin amuses himself by shooting little jets of water at his boyfriend's abs while Sehun washes his hair and rinses off the remaining come on his body, then turns his attention to Jongin. He works shampoo into a lather in the merman's hair and gets pummeled by heart-shaped bubbles that pop right in his face. 

"Cheeky princeling." Sehun swipes a soapy finger across Jongin's cheek to make him giggle sleepily. "Okay, scoot." He manages to get the merman right underneath the spray of water and combs through his hair meticulously, rinsing out all the shampoo. "D'you get yourself cleaned up?" 

"Yeah." Jongin brushes light hands over his scales gently. "I'm good." 

"Okay." Before Sehun stands back up, he can't help but press his lips against Jongin's, feeling water droplets falling into their open mouths as they lap at each other under the spray. 

"So romantic," Jongin sighs happily. 

"Princeling, we're in a shower." 

"So cute!" 

"Right." Sehun chuckles and shuts the water off, reaching for two fluffy white towels he had set out beforehand. By the time he gets himself dry, Jongin is beginning to transform, so Sehun wraps the towel around his waist and kneels outside of the tub to let Jongin grip his hand tightly. "You're doing so good, princeling. That's it. Hmm, one of these days I should look into something that might help it hurt less." 

"How?" Jongin asks as the last of his ribbon-like fins fade. 

"Not sure," Sehun admits. "Not like there's any research that's been done on it. Maybe we'll do it by trial and error." He's still thinking about the idea as he dries his hair off. "Baek says Advil is the solution to world peace, maybe we'll start with that." 

"Ad—Advil?" Jongin asks. Sehun takes the towel from him and begins ruffling it in his hair to dry it off. 

"Medicine, darling." 

"Oh. Like Tylenol?" 

"Like Tylenol," Sehun confirms, tossing the towel onto the counter and reaching for the comb to brush Jongin's damp locks out. "There you go. Let's go to bed, princeling." 

"Let's," Jongin agrees sleepily. There's so much room on the king-sized mattress, but they choose to sleep intertwined, Jongin wrapped in Sehun's embrace, legs tangled together so tightly that they can't even tell whose limbs are whose. Both of them are exhausted, but Sehun still presses his lips against Jongin's forehead softly, like he does every morning, and whispers. 

"Good night, princeling." 

—— 

Sunlight is what wakes him up the next day. Jongin's head hurts with the depth of his slumber when he blearily opens his eyes. The bed is colder than it was yesterday night. 

"Sehun?" Jongin mumbles, but there's no reply. With some effort, the merman sits upright and yawns sleepily, then stretches upwards. He rubs sleep out of his eyes and feels his rat's nest hairstyle as he takes a precursory glance around the hotel room. His fiance is nowhere to be seen. "Sehun?" Jongin whispers, looking towards the empty bathroom. Irrational as it is, worry grips his heart. Where's Sehun? What time is it? Jongin looks over at the clock sitting on the nightstand, and that's when he notices the bouquet of small white flowers and lavender, packaged neatly in brown wrapping paper and a note sitting next to it. "Oh…" A small smile grows on Jongin's face, anxiety replaced immediately by joy. 

_Good morning, princeling. Did you sleep well? I love you. I'm out procuring gifts for you :) I'll be back soon, don't worry._   
_\- Always your Sehun._

Jongin sets the card down carefully on the table and picks up the bouquet to admire the arrangement. The lavender is fragrant, and its light, springlike smell calms Jongin down even more as he brings the bouquet up to his nose. A perfect morning greeting, especially since the hotel door buzzes and the door opens just as Jongin sets the bouquet down. 

"Sehunnie!" Jongin scrambles off the side of the bed and wraps his arms around Sehun's neck. Sehun leans into the greeting, placing a kiss on Jongin's temple. Both his hands are full with plastic bags. The smell of maple syrup wafts through the air. 

"Got you breakfast in bed, is it okay with you?" Sehun asks, eyes crinkling up at the sight of Jongin's horrible bedhead. "Good morning, my love." 

"Morning," Jongin whispers happily, clamoring into bed. Sehun sets the plastic bags of food down on the rumpled covers, then toes off his shoes and socks to climb in next to Jongin. 

"Here." Sehun hands Jongin one out of two plastic take-out trays filled with fluffy pancakes, sausages, and scrambled eggs. "It's from a place that Yifan recommended, he said Yixing loves the pancakes." Jongin digs in happily. "Is it good?" In response, Jongin holds out a bite of sausage for Sehun. "Oh, it is good." Sehun opens his own tray. "We need to check out of the hotel soon, but I want to take you to get milkshakes at this place I always used to go to when I was in university before we leave. And then you can sleep for the rest of the afternoon back at home." 

"Sounds amazing." Jongin snuggles up to Sehun as they trade bites of food and conversation. 

"Did you enjoy the trip?" Sehun asks after he swallows a mouthful of pancake. Jongin nods enthusiastically. "I'm glad. I thought it was fun too, we can do it again sometime, or we could invite Yifan and Yixing to the cottage for a couple nights." 

"That would be nice." Jongin brightens at the thought of it. "It's amazing that you found Yifan and got in touch with him." 

"It's more amazing that he was so close, actually." Sehun takes another bite of his breakfast. "I'm glad that you and Yixing are able to meet each other on land as well." 

"Thank you for doing this for me." Jongin tips his head against Sehun's shoulder. "Sehunnie, you're truly an angel." 

"No, princeling. I just love you and want to make you happy." Sehun holds out a forkful of scrambled egg for Jongin. "We'll take another trip before you leave," he promises. 

"Really?!" 

"Yes. My parents want to meet you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for waiting for my updates. I hope you enjoy this one ^o^ Everyone please stay safe and healthy!
> 
> Oh! If you have any prompts from this AU you'd like to see, feel free to leave them in the comments! As this has a meandering little plot, I'm happy to write anything into the story :) keeps me from getting bored as well! And speaking of comments, thank you for the support <3.


	17. princeling

Dark. It's so dark. Jongin can't see a thing. Try as he might, there isn't a single detail amidst the vast expanse of nothing. He turns around frantically, stumbling against the suffocating darkness. His breath draws up short, why can't he breathe? He's supposed to be able to breathe anywhere. 

"Sehun?" Jongin calls. Where is his beloved? "Sehun!"

"Right here." A warm hand grasps his, and even though Jongin can't see him, his entire body floods with relief. Sehun's here. Everything will be okay. 

"Sehunnie, where are we? I can't see anything. How do we get out of here?" 

"I don't know." Sehun's voice is unnaturally cold, and Jongin whimpers. The warmth of his presence starts to fade. 

"Sehunnie, don't go. Sehun—?" His movements are sluggish, even as he grows more panicked. His legs won't cooperate properly and he feels clumsy, as if he's just gotten back onto land. Jongin flounders desperately after his beloved, panic and fear seizing his muscles as he begins to sink— 

"Princeling?" Someone is shaking him gently. "Wake up, love." Jongin thrashes in the sheets, even as the nightmare begins to fade away. "Shh, shh. It's just me, it's Sehun." The merman's eyes fly open and he gasps, feeling oxygen rush into his lungs easily. His fiance is sitting on the edge of the bed, concern etched in his expression, wearing a simple white t-shirt and gray sweatpants. He must have been working. "Did you have a nightmare?" Sehun asks softly, pushing Jongin's sweaty bangs off of his forehead. "I heard you crying." 

"I… cried?" Jongin brings tentative fingertips to his cheeks, shocked to see that they come away wet. "Oh…" 

"You okay?" Sehun presses his lips gently against Jongin's hand. "You slept for a long time, though I'm sorry you had to wake up this way. It's just past five o'clock in the afternoon." Jongin sighs shakily and turns towards the window, where the sun is low in the sky and a gentle sea breeze makes the tall grass and shrubbery sway slightly. 

"Nightmare," Jongin murmurs, half-abashed. He shouldn't be waking up crying like a helpless child. 

"I know. It's okay." Sehun smiles as Jongin sits up and leans back against the pillows. "Good evening, princeling." He shifts closer to Jongin to give him his usual kiss, but Jongin tucks his chin against his chest. Sehun's brows furrow. "What's wrong?" 

"Nothing." Jongin scoots away from Sehun and swings himself out of bed, only to get pulled back by Sehun's fingers snagging the hem of his pajama shirt. 

"Princeling, Jonginie, love of my life, tell me why you're being like this." Sehun keeps his hand on Jongin's waist, just under his shirt so that he cradles the waistband of his pajama bottoms and his fingertips brush bare skin. "Not like you to walk away from a good evening kiss, darling." 

"Am I a burden?" Jongin whispers, playing with the hem of his shirt. 

"A _burden?"_ Sehun sounds incredulous. His other hand slips under Jongin's chin and tips it up so that the merman has to meet his eyes, which are full of concern and worry. "Baby, what did you dream about?" Sehun sounds so sad that Jongin almost regrets asking the question. "Why would you think that?" 

"Do I… hold you back?" Jongin's eyes plead with Sehun to tell the truth. "Why do you take care of me?" 

"Because I _love_ you, Jongin." His fiance stares back at him tenderly. "You have never held me back, nor will you ever have the capacity to." 

"You're not… not supposed to have to take care of me—take me to places—keep my secrets—" Jongin's eyes well up with tears.

"But I want to." Sehun's voice is soft. "I know I don't have to. Who are you to tell me what I want and don't want to do? Sorry, my princeling, but you don't have that jurisdiction over me yet." There's a hint of a coy smile on his lips. "What has gotten into you today?" 

"I feel guilty." 

"And I'm sorry you feel that way, but I like taking care of you, and I'll continue to do so. I promised." Sehun reaches out for Jongin's left hand, where his platinum engagement ring sits on his fourth finger. Jongin's heart swells, and his tears spill over onto his cheeks. "There is nothing to feel guilty about," Sehun consoles, wiping away his tears as fast as they come. "Must have been some nightmare you had," he mutters to himself. 

"I dreamed… you left me." 

"And that's why we wake up from dreams," Sehun says dryly, and Jongin hiccups on a laugh. "Don't cry, princeling." His fiance leans forward and plants a long kiss on Jongin's lips. "Good evening," he whispers. "You look beautiful today." 

—— 

Their hands are clasped tightly together as Sehun leads Jongin down to the soft sand on the beach, a good way away from the waves and sets down a basket full of dinner. The merman spreads the blanket out, then kicks off his shoes and joins Sehun to sit down, shoulder pressed against shoulder, staring at the incessant waves washing up and pulling back from the shore. 

“It’s a nice day,” Sehun says softly. The salty ocean breeze blows his hair back from his face. Jongin nods in agreement. A perfect evening for a beach picnic. His earlier uncertainty has faded into a silly, vague memory, mostly because of Sehun’s efforts. They made dinner together, lemon chicken wraps and fruit salad with sparkling apple cider and cupcakes from the bakery in the city that they had brought home. It was quiet and comfortable, Sehun’s hands placed over Jongin’s, teaching him how to roll a soft tortilla so that the contents of the wrap don’t spill out, both of them slicing fruit into small pieces and feeding each other bites of strawberry as they do so. They eat slowly, enjoying the last rays of sunshine for the day as the sun slowly creeps down towards the horizon. Sehun chuckles when Jongin reaches for the cupcakes before anything else. 

“Doing things backwards today?”

“Dessert tastes better when you eat it first,” Jongin insists. And who is Sehun to deny this fact of life? He opens the box and proffers chocolate caramel coconut delight to his merman, then takes orange and raspberry for himself. 

“They certainly had some creative flavors,” Sehun remarks, plucking the singular raspberry off the top of his admittedly squashed, but still delicious cupcake. 

“I like cupcakes, but cookies are my favorite. Especially plain chocolate chip ones, the kind we make together,” Jongin murmurs between bites. 

“Can’t go wrong with chocolate chip,” Sehun agrees. “We’ll make some more.” Dessert is finished slowly, and followed by a few sips of cider. 

“Sehunnie,” Jongin utters softly as Sehun holds a piece of kiwi up to his lips. 

“Hmm?”

“We had our first kiss here.” At this, Sehun looks up and glances around, as if he doesn’t know where they are. They chose to walk along the boardwalk today, past their usual beach access, and the crowded public one. Instead, they walk so far down the beach that there’s nobody but them around, yet the view around them is still wide open, not enclosed by cliffs like their rendezvous area. Behind them, the colorful lights of the boardwalk ferris wheel, various food trucks, and string lights twinkle brightly in the darkening night. 

“We did,” Sehun agrees slowly. The memories flood back to him. "That was so long ago." 

~~

 _It's a strange feeling, being nervous to walk up to the front door of his own house, but Sehun's heart thumps frantically in his chest as he steps onto the front porch and gulps small breaths of air to try and calm himself down. He has never been so nervous for a first date, but then again, Sehun muses to himself, he's never been this enchanted by someone either. He fumbles with the key twice before he gets the door to unlock._

_"Jongin," Sehun calls softly, unsure what exactly to expect. "I'm back… are you ready?" He's unprepared for when the merman shyly steps out of the bedroom looking absolutely radiant . "Oh," Sehun murmurs dumbly. For a moment, it's almost as if he can see auras—Jongin seems to glow gold, flushed happiness on his cheeks, staring at Sehun with just as much adoration. Sehun shakily holds out the bouquet of red roses to Jongin, leaves still peeking out of the brown paper wrapping. "For you," Sehun offers, wondering if it's too much. How is he supposed to do this? Is he expected to court Jongin? How do things work in the coven? Sehun has no idea; he's just going off of past dates—a pretty questionable idea, given that none of them ever worked out in the end, but what else can he do? Sehun so badly wants this one to work out. Luckily, Jongin's smile is uncontainable as he approaches him and shyly accepts the roses, touching the soft petals gently._

_"Thank you," Jongin whispers, peeking up at Sehun through thick eyelashes and half-hooded eyes. Sehun's heart goes haywire. There's no way he's expected to last an entire evening, right? Not with Jongin looking so magical and beautiful… "Where are we going?"_

_"I… umm…" Sehun takes a deep breath. "I was thinking we could get dinner at the seafood bar, and then go to the boardwalk?" He's never felt so helpless. Jongin's smile is so pretty. He's so pretty. Oh, Sehun is so screwed._

_"Okay." Jongin carefully sets the roses on the kitchen table and his fingers twist shyly together as Sehun awkwardly turns to head out the door. The merman is usually full of chatter and conversation, but today, there's only silence. What does he do? What does he say? He flinches as a car passes by both of them on the road; he still hasn't got used to how loud the engines are. The lingering smell of oil and tar makes him wince. Suddenly, a warm hand wraps around his waist and Jongin almost squeaks in surprise as Sehun gently pulls him to walk on his left instead of his right, at least partially shielding him from the road. Jongin's heart melts; it's so Sehun-like to pay attention to such a small gesture. He almost flinches again when Sehun's hand slips into his and he intertwines their fingers together. Jongin's other hand covers his mouth to hide the happy smile. Their hands fit so perfectly together, palm pressed against palm, comfortable and easy. When Sehun dares to finally sneak a glance towards his left, all the questions milling around in his chest are eased. This is Jongin, shy, kind, sweet. He's probably just as nervous and happy to go on a date with Sehun. No matter what happens, they can't possibly mess up._

_"How was your day?" Sehun asks softly. "When'd you wake up?"_

_"Around 2."_

_"That's pretty early for you," Sehun points out._

_"I don't need as much sleep as you." Jongin smooths down a wrinkle in his shirt._

_"Still, you usually wake up 3 or 4. Did you eat lunch, then?"_

_"No." Jongin blushes. "I… I was excited."_

_"For our date?" Sehun teases, but Jongin's little confession makes him smile, especially when the merman nods and giggles softly. Sehun relaxes. "I'm happy, too. Thank you for coming with me." In truth, he feels unbelievably lucky. He can only imagine how many admirers Jongin has back home at his coven. He probably only has to ask and anything he ever wanted would be at his fingertips. The fact that the merman chooses to visit him, spend time in a completely foreign, strange town on land, to go on a date with him, out of everyone…_

_"Sehunnie?" Sehun snaps out of his thoughts. God, it's so cute when he calls his name like that._

_"Yeah, sorry."_

_"Thank you for taking me on a date." Jongin blushes._

_"Oh—of course." Sehun squeezes Jongin's hand. Jongin squeezes back. "Of course, Jongin. I like you a lot." The merman's smile gets impossibly wider._

—— 

_"Are you cold?" Before Jongin can answer, Sehun drapes his arm around the merman's shoulder, prompting him to encircle his waist as they walk slowly down the wooden boardwalk, past neon-lit tourist shops and street food vendors. Jongin is positively glowing, full of good food and new memories of his life on land. Sehun holding his hand across the table, the other cupping his cheek as he listened to Jongin talk quietly about the latest news at the coven. His boyfriend's blush and sassy-shy dismissal of Jongdae's teasing winks over his shoulder through dinner as he served them. And now, as they walk further from the crowd, Sehun gently leads Jongin towards a set of wooden stairs, half-buried in a sand dune that leads to an empty expanse of beach. The merman kicks off his Converse and wiggles his toes into the soft sand; Sehun copies him. It's rather difficult to carry their shoes and walk so tangled together, but they do their best, small laughs slipping through the cracks of their nonstop conversation. This feels perfect. It feels right._

_"Sehunnie, I'm so happy." Jongin's heart is fit to burst._

_"I'm glad. I had fun tonight, too." Sehun turns to look at Jongin, and the sliver of silver moon in the air that shines on the merman's cheekbone makes him catch his breath. Jongin glances towards him, sea green eyes full of sparkling, ephemeral joy and a hint of shyness. His gaze flickers down to Sehun's mouth, then back up to his eyes. Both of them have slowly come to a stop on the beach; in the background is the soothing sound of waves washing up on the beach. Sehun's breathing is quiet and even, but pressed tightly against him, Jongin can feel his heartbeat, fast-paced, erratic._

_"Can I kiss you?" Sehun whispers. Jongin nods breathlessly, letting his eyes flutter shut when Sehun's lips graze his forehead. They pull back, then ghost across his cheek. Jongin doesn't open his eyes, but Sehun's proximity is tangible, the warmth of his lips hovering just above his own… Jongin makes a tiny nose in the back of his throat when Sehun's mouth finally closes over his and mouths at him softly. Once; twice; three times before he pulls back with ragged breathing. Jongin opens his eyes to see Sehun pressing his lips tightly together, gaze slightly unfocused. "Honeysuckle," he whispers._

_"It's lip balm," Jongin tells him shyly. Sehun's scent and clean cologne linger on him too, and Jongin knows that he'll never grow tired of it._

_"Are you tired?" Sehun asks after a long moment. He is, for lack of better description, starstruck._

_"It's nighttime, Sehunnie."_

_"Oh, right. I forgot." Sehun laughs shakily; the kiss keeps replaying itself in his mind—the sweetness of Jongin's lips, the softness in his touch._

_"Are you tired?" Jongin asks softly. "We can go back. I… I had a really nice time tonight."_

_"Let's walk back along the beach, yeah?" Sehun's hand drops from cupping Jongin's shoulders to take his boyfriend's hand to start walking again. "Tonight was amazing, princeling," he says without thinking._

_"Wha…?" Jongin stops in his tracks, and Sehun turns to look at him worriedly._

_"Is… it okay if I call you that? Princeling?"_

_"Prince… ling?" Jongin echoes, feeling his heart flip over in his chest._

_"Like 'prince' and 'darling'." Sehun almost blushes. "I thought it was fitting for you."_

_"Say it again?" Jongin requests._

_"My princeling." Sehun watches the uncontainable smile that Jongin desperately tries to tamp down spread across his face. "Do you like it, princeling?"_

_"Yes," Jongin whispers happily. "Yes, yes, yes." Princeling. "It's perfect."_

~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of fluff for today. I hope everyone is doing well!


End file.
